Novena
by YeetHo
Summary: She's a loyal little Knight, proud of her duty and unshakeable in her faith. Of course, all of those would come into question the moment the Man in Red kills His Holiness and sets off a chain of events that'll turn her world on its head. (OC-heavy, no romance with OC!)
1. a dog's name is

**[NOVENA]**

Executive Gloria… is quite the character.

And that's saying something, because Novena had grown up around Agnus , who is the Head Scientist of the Order of the Sword, as well as Nero; a fellow Knight in her batch back when they were still Knight-to-be. Agnus is quite famous (or infamous) amongst the ranks of the Order, what with his perpetual stuttering, mutterings and his absolute devotion to Demonology, not to mention his unmatched knowledge in his field of expertise. Nero, on the other hand, is a young Knight made from spitfire and natural combative talent.

Anyway, back to Executive Gloria.

Novena's new superior is unapologetically extravagant, not to mention _shameless_ enough to wear, well, that… suit of hers. Questionable choice of outfits aside, Gloria is also exquisite, exotic, and undoubtedly a head turner, even without the loudness of her outfit. Chocolate skin, hair coloured like snow, not to mention her eyes.

A piercing pair of blues that it's always so disconcerting when you look into them. Or when their gaze is fixed on someone.

Like what is happening now, to Novena, that is.

Novena and her squad leader are perched atop the branches of a considerably tall tree, the clearing below crawling with Chimera Scarecrows and Chimera seedlings, and while Novena is being a dutiful Knight and doing her job, Gloria is lounging against her own perch, twirling a beautifully forged knife in her gloved hands, all careless pose and relaxed demeanour.

Novena turns her superior, smiling wryly. "Executive Gloria, please concentrate on the job at hand." Is it really a squad when it's just the two of them? Oh well, a thought to be pondered at a later date. "We aren't here for a leisurely stroll, no matter how tempting it is."

Gloria smirks, nude painted lips lush. "Aren't you such an uptight little girl," She drawls, more teasing than derisive. "It's not good for the complexion, sweetheart."

Novena can't help it, she rolls her eyes as she chuckles, shaking her head as she adjusts her grip on her Caliburn and the short sword. Both blades may be smaller, thinner and lighter than their regular counterparts, but they're still a sizeable pair of weapons. It's quite easy to get stiff, cramped hands.

"The state of my complexion is the least of my concerns," Novena retorts, huffing a breathy laugh. "I'd rather focus on these demons below us."

Gloria pouts, exaggerated and fake put-out. "Poo, you're no fun." But nonetheless, Gloria rises like a snake from her perch, all sinuous grace and fluid movements. Gloria swan dives off her perch, landing on a Chimera and her heels managing to pierce the fleshy parts of the plant demon. She then quickly dispatches it with one stroke of her knife, and the demon bursts like a popped balloon, fluid and demonic particles exploding outwards.

Novena herself leaps from her hiding spot, like a great hunting cat pouncing on her prey, and she skewers two of the Chimera Scarecrows, cutting them open with a twist of her body as she pounces on her next victim. With her Caliburn's longer reach and relatively wider blade, she uses it to block and parry blows from the demons, dancing around her target until she could lash out with the smaller short sword and end their damned existence.

The two women are practically _dancing_ in the midst of the horde, each movement graceful and purposeful. The Executive Gloria is fond of flips and acrobatics, flitting to and fro as she killed demons left and right with contemptuous ease. Novena herself isn't as acrobatic, but the way she twirls, dips and pirouettes has its own flair, its own deadliness.

As they cleared out the area, Novena thinks that her own style and skillset complements her new squad leader's well. Probably the main reason why General Credo had reassigned her from his own unit to Gloria's. That, and the two of them are the only female Knights still in active service. Former General Regina had retired the previous year, passing down command of the Order to Credo as her last order.

While the Order of the Sword don't look down or prohibit female Knights, the Order – and Fortuna, really – is still largely patriarchal in command, an influence from their worship of the Dark Knight, Sparda.

Saviour knows how much of a struggle it was, back in her trainee days.

But it's a non-issue for Novena at the moment. She's a Knight, one of its better crops, and she's earned her place. Worked thrice as hard as her male peers, worked thrice as hard to earn her right to Ascend—

"You might want to duck, sweetheart!" Executive Gloria calls out, sudden and just the mildest bit nervous. Novena doesn't bother questioning it – never really questioned her superiors, not even once – merely just doing as she's told and just in time, too.

Knife-like claws the length of Novena's forearm rends the air, just mere inches from the younger Knight's face, and Novena yelps out in shock and fear, tipping over and losing her balance. She ends up sprawled on her ass, right in the middle of a horde of demons. Usually, she'd back on her feet in a flash, her weapons splayed out, but not right now.

Not right now, when a demon she's never personally encountered before towers over her.

Novena, in her frozen state, could hear her leader hiss out a curse in a foreign tongue, and trained responses kicks in, finally. Novena gets her legs under, and just as the reptilian demon rears its clawed arm back, Novena moves, launching herself backwards and away from the new arrival, away from claws that would've torn her apart.

It an Assault, the forest-dwelling cousins of the Frosts that live up in Lamina peaks, and this is honestly the first time she's faced an Assault up close and personal in all her years as a Holy Knight. Then again, it made sense; first few years of her service, she was strictly kept within the city walls, then a brief stint as part of His Holiness's personal guard.

It was just a couple years back that she's been assigned to patrols outside the protected areas of their island. And ever since, she's been meeting her demons – literal ones – one after the other.

Novena twists, both feet alighting on one of those Chimera Scarecrows, and before its thorny limbs could lash out, Novena's already moving once more. She hops up lightly, only to twist her body to cleave the demon in two. Dull silver glitters from the corner of her eyes, and she ducks down, folded in half as two Chimera seedlings leapt for her head. They miss her by a wide margin, but one manages to land on a Scarecrow.

The seedling pushes its nasty tentacles into the other demon, making its burlap body shudder and contort. Bigger, stronger roots burst from its head, winding down the Scarecrow's body and rooting deep, and the Chimera seedling's bud blooms into a grotesque flower. Vines slither out from orifices, thorns sharp as any blade.

Novena grimaces as she hastily backs away, eyes flitting over to the horde. They've killed quite a bit, Novena is sure about it; the ground is slippery and drenched with demon bile, and the air is thick and hazy from the demonic particles lingering. They've killed quite a bit, as between Executive Gloria and Novena, they're quite the speedy fighters, but _why isn't the horde thinning out_?

"We need to fall back, call reinforcements." Novena calls out, lips twisted in a displeased frown as her leader joins her, their backs to each other and their weapons out, surrounded on all sides. Off to the side, Novena can see the Assault demon beheaded, already dissolving into nothingness. "Why are we sent on the most ridiculous patrol routes? It wasn't like this in the General's unit!"

Despite the gravity of the situation, Executive Gloria manages a light laugh, absolutely uncaring of their current situation. "But where's the fun in that?!" And with that honestly ridiculous statement, Executive Gloria leans back into Novena, making the younger Knight yelp in surprise as she's practically forced down, as the older Knight flips over her, heeled boots kicking away at the Demons and forcing them back.

Novena briefly turns her eyes skyward. "Saviour help me."

With renewed vigour, and quite a bit of exasperation from Novena, the two female Knights finally manage to clear out the demons, the air practically black and heavy, the ground so drenched it's more of a fledgling marsh than anything else.

Novena is off to the side, nursing bruised ribs (nothing new), cuts and lacerations everywhere (again, nothing new) and her hair far shorter than it is (new, and very surprising). And another Assault, probably a pack mate of the first one they killed, had gotten the drop on her earlier, and if Novena hadn't reacted as fast as she did, it's her head that would've been taken off, not her hair, unwound from its bun and then promptly shorn off.

She toes at the dark locks, lips pressed tightly in dismay. She had grown her hair out, as any proper Fortunian women do, but that Assault just _had_ to cut it off, huh?

Rude.

Her expression must be particularly open, as Gloria had taken one look at her and had chuckled. "Don't be too disappointed, love." The exotic woman says, amusement warming her ice-like eyes and making her fierce features just a tad softer. "That's the least of the worries one could have, especially when dealing with demons."

Novena paws at her uneven hair, now just falling to the tops of her shoulders instead of falling all the way to her rear. She grimaces, flicks at the jagged edges and fixes her superior with a tired look. "Excuse my rudeness, but may we return to HQ?" 20 years…. 20 years of carefully maintained, trimmed, and cared for hair. All gone, in just a blink of an eye.

Novena feels like throwing a tantrum.

Gloria laughs once more, wholly amused at Novena's expense, but nonetheless they begin their trek through Mitis Forest, thankfully encountering no more demons on the way. If there were more, Novena isn't sure what she would do; do her best to throw the demons off of cliffs (won't kill them, but it would be extremely satisfying) or slice and dice them, until they're nothing more than tiny nuggets of demonic flesh (messy and horrid, but just as satisfying).

Novena moves swiftly but gingerly behind Gloria, wounds making her body ache, but it was nothing she wasn't used to. Being a Knight, after all, means that these things are the norm, these are part of the package for serving their Saviour Sparda. Novena has quite the nice collection of trophy scars, in fact, ones that she's quite pleased with.

"Oh, here," Gloria tosses something Novena's way, and only the younger Knight's trained reflexes allowed her to catch the item, light green in colour and as large as Novena's fist, which means not much. "Would taste something horrid, but it'll help."

Novena blinks at the exotic woman's back, before looking down at the item on her hands. She _almost_ drops it, upon registering what she's holding.

It's a Vital Star, a curious little item that holds a life-giving elixir within its glass case. It's extremely rare, not to mention _expensive_, and it's made via a complicated process involving a demon's natural healing factor, herbs and natural medicines, and a whole lot of science.

Novena sits through Executive Agnus' lessons, as required, but she can't fully comprehend the scientist's excited ramblings and frequent stuttering about the creation of Vital Stars.

"E-Executive-!" Novena blubbers, panicked and a whole lot flustered. The younger Knight picks up her pace to level with Gloria, trying to hand back the valuable item clutched in her hands as Novena protests the excessiveness of using the Vital Star on her measly injuries. "This is a little too much, I think!"

Gloria just shrugs, the bright blue feathers adorning the epaulettes of her suit ruffling as she did so. "I have spares, sweetheart. Save it for a later date, if you wish," Gloria looks over her shoulder so give Novena a secretive smirk, and Novena, for some reason, feels unease stir in her stomach. The exotic woman winks playfully, and the moment passes, leaving Novena unsettled. "But I find that even small sips can help, if not outright heal those cuts on you."

Novena hesitates. The Executive makes a fair argument, and Novena has already spoken out of turn, daring to question orders like she did. So much for 'not once questioning her superiors'. Then again, ever since being assigned to their two-man (or rather, two-_women_) team, Novena has been making questions, sometimes taking a fraction of a second to wonder about the thought process of her new superior.

After all, Executive Gloria is like no one else. She keeps managing to throw off Novena, much to the younger Knight's stress.

Anyway, back to the Vital Star in Novena's hands.

She carefully twists the top, removing the glass stopper, and brings the Vital Star to her lips, tipping it back and swallowing a small mouthful. She almost vomits it back up, the taste revolting and the liquid seemingly burning her throat, but Novena powers through, hacking and coughing as she clumsily reseals the Vital Star.

Oh, wow, _ew_.

She can feel her body tingle all over, and she watches her cuts _heal_ and _dissolve_, red mist sloughing off her body to disappear and leave only faint marks behind, like her hour old wounds are _years_ old, just a pale white against the tan of her skin.

Remarkable.

Gloria sings a little 'I told you so' as they walk up the path to the Order's HQ, the stark white castle contrasting against the dark grey sky signalling oncoming rain. At the sight of the massive establishment, Novena sighs in relief, a small smile curling her lips. The Headquarters has always been associated with the concept of 'home' to her, ever since she was a child.

After all, she and most of her fellow brothers and sisters in faith were raised within the Order's very white walls.

She lags behind a little as they cross the bridge, staring at the proud symbol carved into the castle's face, the symbol of the Order of the Sword, the symbol that Novena proudly wears and upholds. When Gloria calls out for her once more, this time fondly exasperated – Novena _does_ have the habit of suddenly stopping and just stare at things that caught her attention – Novena resumes moving, hand trailing across the metal railings framing the sides of the bridge. Novena's positive she could navigate the HQ with a blindfold on, but she hasn't gotten around to trying that theory yet.

Maybe it was arrogant of her, but then again, she _is_ raised within the walls of the HQ, along with the other orphans, her fellow Knights. They know the HQ halls and corridors like they know the back of their hands, know the people within it, and of course, they know their duty, the importance of pledging their life for the fulfilment of their Saviour's covenant with human kind

Novena and her superior finally made their way inside, the inside of the HQ far busier than the outside, with Knights and other personnel bustling from one place to another, harried and hurrying. The HQ is more akin to a beehive at the moment, but it was understandable; tomorrow is the Festival of the Blade, after all.

The celebration of Sparda's Rebellion, the celebration of Fortuna's founding.

"I'll go report to our illustrious General-" Gloria murmurs, taking a gentle hold of Novena's elbow. The Executive nods her head in the general direction of the medical bay, obviously wanting Novena to still report to her doctors to ensure her health and no demonic infection occurs despite having consumed a small bit of the Vital Star earlier. The Knights couldn't afford to lose their warriors; the populace of Fortuna would be in grave danger if it happens. "-While you go get checked up. I'll debrief you tonight."

Novena doesn't bother arguing. Besides, a nap – even if it's in the medical bay – seems tempting. A whole day of patrolling and their tiresome encounter with the horde had drained her quite horribly. "Understood, Executive."

Gloria smiles at her, fond and sultry at the same time. "You did well today. Take your rest." And with that, Gloria turns sharply on her heel, sashaying away to make her report.

So Novena does what is asked of her as well, easily making her way to the medical bay. Novena greets her fellow brothers and sisters of faith, nodding respectfully at her superiors but soon enough, she's in her destination. The medical bay isn't far from the entrance, after all.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged- what the hell happened to you?" Novena almost starts, not expecting the voice of one of her best friends.

She looks over, and true enough, Nero, the white-haired prodigy of a Knight, is seated on one of the cots as well, right arm wrapped up in a sling as usual. His customized red and blue coat is off, as well as his shirt, revealing his pale white torso swaddled up in a thick layer of bandages, making him a quarter mummy. Novena winces when she notices large tears on his back, stitched together but still gruesome.

"Language," Novena reprimands absently and reflexively as she makes her way to Nero's cot, carefully peering around his shoulder to look down at his new collection of scars. "What happened to _you_?"

Nero pushes her back, grimacing. "Hunt took me to Lamina Peaks," He begins and Novena winces further. Mitis Forest – her recent patrol route – might be swarming with more demons than anywhere else on the island, but the demons that made their lairs in the frozen tops of Lamina Peaks are absolutely _brutal_. Novena even heard whispers of a Greater Demon inhabiting the peaks. "Landed myself in a nest of Frosts."

Now, Frosts are familiar to Novena – having fought a few before – and they are, basically, ice lizards.

"They wouldn't happen to have forest-dwelling kin, would they?" Novena asks wryly, fiddling at her hair as she makes herself comfortable. The question was mostly for her own humour, already knowing the answer, but Nero's expression upon realizing was worth it, Novena chuckling at the white-haired Knight's expense.

Nero grimaces. "Yeah, they do. Assaults, they're called." He reaches over, unbothered, and tugs a little at one of the strands of Novena's hair. "Horrible hair dressers."

Novena, despite herself, chuckles. "That they are."

The two of them fall into comfortable silence, Novena moving to an empty cot beside Nero's while doctors looked her over, and making sure she's in tip top shape. It wouldn't do for Knights to fall ill just as the Festival draws near; all needs to be present, in order to hear the Gospel and renew their vows.

Novena turns back to Nero when she's cleared, clothes removed and taken to the acquisitions officers to be changed or fixed and her own torso the same state as the white-haired prodigy's.

"So, how's Kyrie?" The female Knight asks, and as she expected, Nero blushes quite furiously, his impressive scowl failing to hide the redness of his face. "Please tell me you finally bought that thing you've wanted to give her for a long time."

Novena _might_ be raised within the HQ, but that doesn't mean she was isolated, especially during her trainee years. She remembers, how this spitfire of a boy, with pure white hair and the sky in his eyes joined her batch, outstripping them in sword fighting and demon hunting in just a few tests. Remembers how little Nero had stood up for her when some of the older trainees harassed her for her gender.

Nero, for all his rough and gruff attitude, is a good man, and an even better Knight. He's just really, _really_ rough around the edges. It's one of the reason's Novena pursued his friendship, and it wasn't long until she succeeded, which promptly led her to meeting Nero's 'adoptive' family.

Kyrie, the sweetest girl in all of Fortuna, unmatched by her kindness and compassion. And Credo, the Order's current General and one of its best in all of the Order's history.

Nero glares at Novena, who only laughs because Nero's ears are horribly red, starkly visible against the pale white of his skin and hair. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up hag." He growls, but he softens immediately afterwards. Not surprising; any mention of his secret crush, Nero turns into a helpless puddle of goo.

Having known Nero and Kyrie for quite a handful of years, it's equal parts hilarious and exasperating to watch them dance around each other. Not that they're aware of what they're doing. As far as Novena knows, there are a few betting pools going on within the ranks, and no matter how unpopular Nero is, he _is_ still one of the top Knights of the Order, despite his low rank, so people like to talk.

There are rumours of General Credo betting on 'marrying before the end of the year', but no one can confirm its authenticity.

Whether because they're too scared to confirm it or not, Novena doesn't know. She doesn't want to know either, to be honest, because it's one thing to ask your best friend about his courting advances, it's another thing to ask your _superior_ about his _younger sister's_ courtship.

Novena shakes her head, smiling as she reclines on her cot. "Best give it to her tomorrow." Novena comments, remembering Kyrie's ecstatic announcement of the honour bestowed upon her. "And don't be late. I'll rip you apart, the moment you hurt Kyrie."

"Ain't happening, hag." Nero returns, and the quiet steel in his voice assures Novena.

She would hate it if anything happens to Nero and Kyrie, her siblings in all but blood. She's lost her parents young (barely even a year old, according to her personal file) and she's lost a lot friends and peers to the demons crawling within their lands. She doesn't want to think about what would happen if she loses these two.

The two injured Knights fall into silence, not picking up anymore conversation as they settle in their spots. It's fine though, it's comfortable.

It's peaceful.


	2. the white haired knight

**[NERO]**

The next day dawned bright and early, and Nero is running late for Kyrie's performance, which is held over at the Opera House.

And his lateness _isn't_ his fault; rapid healing means that all sorts of things sometimes ends up fusing with newly healed flesh. Like bandages, stitches that is yet to dissolve, the likes. And removing them is a _bitch_ to do.

So, it wasn't his fault for being late, and it's the reason why Nero's booking it to the Opera House like a bat out of hell. Leaving his own apartment in a dead sprint and keeping it up, sticking to back alleys and shortcuts to avoid the majority of the populace (he was never popular like the other Knights) and to save time.

"Good morn- wait, Nero?"

Oh no. _Oooooh nooooo_.

Nero winces, skidding to a stop as he turns to the other side of the road. And as the presence of her voice suggested, there she is. Novena.

Nero winces, skidding to a stop as he turns to the other side of the road. And as the presence of her voice suggested, there she is.

Novena.

Now, normally, Nero isn't the least bit scared of the slightly older woman – hard to, actually, the lady might be a fierce demon hunter, but she wouldn't hurt a fly – but there are times when… when booking it is much more tempting that talking to the dark haired, green-eyed Knight.

Like, right now.

Nero watches Novena cross the road, using the pedestrian lane like the good citizen that she is, and Nero swallows his nervousness, because the look on Novena's face clearly means he got some explaining and fast talking to do.

Novena's smile is as sharp as her short sword, as dangerous as her custom Caliburn. She's decked out in her full Holy Knight regalia, all long white coat, white hood and gold accents. What sets her apart from the other Knights is the lack of pants, and instead Novena is wearing a skirt, legs sheathed in dark grey tights that disappears into sturdy boots.

She's dressed for business, and it makes her all the more intimidating.

Not that Nero would let her know that he's _scared_ of her. Wait, no, scratch that, he's not scared of her, nope, not at all.

"_Good_ to see you this time of the day, Nero." Novena greets, all false cheer and sickly sweet smile. "You're not late, I hope? Kyrie would be _dreadfully sad_ if you're not there, you know."

The thing about Novena, is that she's like a bloodhound on a scent. The moment she wants something, she'll work and work and _fight_ to get what she wants, what she aims for. She's crazy determined, and with the passion of a thousand suns.

And Nero might be… might be more than human, better than a human in all aspects, but the moment Nero puts a toe out of line, he would have hell on his hands in the form of Novena.

I _wouldn't_ be late if you stop talking to me, hag," Nero grouses, already itching to run towards the Opera House once more, itching to hear Kyrie's angelic voice, itching to show up to make her happy. "Can I go now? And you're on duty right?"

Novena laughs, and all sharp edges slough off, softens until it's the usual Novena, the kind older-sister figure Nero and Kyrie had grown up with. Nero sees the hand she's raising, no doubt to swat him on the head or ruffle his hair, and he swerves back, scowling fiercely, and the other Knight just laughs some more, wholly amused and unbothered.

"Well, you better pick up the pace Nero. The service is starting in five minutes," Novena turns towards the direction of the Opera House, and Nero does the same. "If you run now you might be not be _that_ late. See hi to Kyrie for me, lover boy."

Nero wants to snap, shove Novena to the side for _talking so loud_, but as she said earlier, the service should be starting soon, and Nero still got quite a bit of ground to cover. So as much as he wants to bully back the older woman, he refrains. "Whatever, I'm off." He mutters, ignoring the warmth in his cheeks at the other girl waiting for her performance at the Opera House.

Novena nods, facing clearing up and making her smile much more amicable. "I'll see you later, Nero." She replies, waving as Nero takes up a light jog away. "Try not to sleep during the Homily!"

Nero scoffs as he picks up the pace, leaving Novena behind to her patrol in the business district. "No promises." He mutters with a grin, legs pumping faster as he outright runs towards his destination. But really, he can't help it if he falls asleep during _all_ of the sermons.

Just because His Holiness is the head of the Order, not to mention the Vicar of Sparda, it doesn't mean his voice doesn't bore the _bejeezus_ out of Nero. And when Nero is bored…

He sleeps. Or goes out to do some solo hunting. Or fiddle with his beloved girls Red Queen and Blue Rose.

Basically when he's bored he'll do anything that doesn't involve interaction with the other Order members. He can't avoid Credo or Novena (the former being his superior and Kyrie's brother, and the latter being, well, a friend of his) but anyone else? To hell with them.

Metaphorically, of course.

Soon enough, Nero enters the less inhabited area of the city, the buildings dilapidated and empty. Novena and Credo, probably even Kyrie, knows the story of why this section of the city is like this, but Nero couldn't really be interested in history. Or gossips running around Fortuna.

But what interests him is…

Nero slows down to a stop, squinting through the morning sun as laughter filled the otherwise empty street. Deformed figures drop from the rooftops, pouring forth from darkened alley mouths and filling the street. Nero count ten of them easy, and there's _definitely_ more of them than that. They laugh that demon laugh of theirs, brandishing legs and arms made of rusted scythes.

Their presence, this deep _within_ the city is concerning, Nero's not going to lie.

But it'll be a non-issue in a few moments, because as much as Nero enjoys pissing off Order members, as much as he couldn't care less about the Saviour and everything related to the 'Great Dark Knight Sparda'… He's still a demon hunter.

And there's prey before him.

So Nero smirks, which quickly morphs into a snarl as he charges forward, right into the crowd of demons. He jumps, twists around, and lands a solid kick on one of the Scarecrows, blasting it a few metres backward with the force of his blow. He lands, light on his feet, and he viciously elbows one of the demons trying to sneak up on him, and another catches his fist square on its 'head'.

Nero catches sight of a blade heading straight for his head, and he turns, his coat flirting with the sharp edge of the blade, and he grins as he grabs at the base of the Scarecrow's arm. The demon turns its head towards him, as if sensing Nero's intentions, and before it could do anything else, Nero wrenches hard, pulling it off of its stilts and using it to bash the others to hell.

The blade pops off, and Nero has to grimace at how _unwieldy_ it is; balance is off, there's no proper grip (then again, not really a proper sword) and it's _clunky_ as fuck. Any self-respecting swordsman would toss this thing to the nearest forge, to be melted down and never spoken of again, but Nero can't do anything about it right now.

He's got some slaying to do.

And since there's now a blade in Nero's hand (no matter how bad of a blade it is), it all went downhill from there. For the demons, of course.

Scarecrows are cut down left and right, not an inch of mercy given to them, and soon enough the street is run with demon bile, unmoving burlap sacks dissipating into the air as they die. Nero huffs in irritation, gladly tossing away the makeshift blade, and he picks up a dead sprint, running faster than before to get in time for Kyrie's performance.

Like a few cannon fodders would stop him from seeing Kyrie perform, screw _that_.

Nero slows his pace down as he nears the Opera House – it wouldn't do for anyone to see him running far too fast for human capabilities – and he slips in through one of the doors.

Just in time; Kyrie's entering the last verse of her song (has he mentioned how he could listen to Kyrie _all day_, no, _all year_? No? Well, yeah, he can do that and some), and so the lights are dimmed, a spotlight on her to accentuate her loveliness and focus the attention on her.

Nero can't help but stare for a moment, oh so taken with the girl that is the reason his heart still beats so strongly these days, and he ignores the mocking laughter in his head, sounding suspiciously like Novena's.

Nero knows for a fact that a majority of the populace _loves_ Kyrie, and a percentage of those are also _in love_ with her. Nero can't blame them - he's in the top 1% that would can and would die for Kyrie, after all – but unlike the others, it wasn't Kyrie's beauty and prestige that attracted him. No, far from it, in fact.

It was Kyrie's kindness. Her unconditional care and support. Her _devotion_.

Nero has never known what love is until it came in the form of Kyrie, and he's sure he'll never love anyone else like he loves the sweet girl. So fucking sappy of him, maybe, but it's the truth. The naked truth, the one truth that Nero utterly and irrevocably believes.

What the hell, he loves her so-

His right arm throbs, and all good emotions drain out of Nero so fucking fast it gives him a little lightheaded. He scowls viciously, staring down at his wrapped up hand, hidden within a sling and disguised as an 'injured' limb. How he _hates_ this arm, this parasite.

This _proof_ that Nero is _not_ human.

His right arm, Devil Bringer, may be one of his greatest weapons, may have saved his life more times than he could count ever since getting it a few months back, but it's a curse, a mark of his…. His inhumanity.

He just had to have _all_ the luck, huh?

No matter, at least, not right now. There are far more pressing stuff to be dealt with first. Like the presence of demons within Fortuna, and finally taking a damn seat so Kyrie could see him there for her.

Nero lets his right arm fall limp within its sling, and he approaches one of the Knights, another member of Credo's unit. Nero could see russet hair and plain brown eyes beneath the shadow of the hood, but he can't recognize the man. Can't recognize any of the others, really, if Nero's going to be honest about it. Nero might be 'tied' to the General's Squad, but Nero is exclusively a solo hunter; he's sent on missions just by himself, and no one else.

Red, because of the man's hair, nods cordially to Nero, which makes things a little bit easier. "Knight Nero." He acknowledges.

Nero tips his head back, before nodding towards the direction of the abandoned district. "Demon sighting _in_ the abandoned district. Large group encountered, now decimated." Nero says, straight to the point and not bothering to waste time with pleasantries. "Ought to send a few guys there to investigate."

Red looks alarmed, as is Blonde beside him, and Red's eyebrows furrow. "We'll let the others know. Good work."

"Yeah, yeah, make sure none of those demons don't get anywhere near the residential district." And with his report done and delivered, Nero turns away, slinking through the shadows to easily slip into one of the few available spots left.

The man to his right gives Nero a dirty look from under his white hood as the white-haired Knight practically lounges on his seat, all loose limbs and uncaring demeanour. Nero ignores the man, couldn't find the motivation to care about him because Kyrie had looked over his way, managing to find him amongst the audience (not really hard, since Nero insists on _not_ wearing the Order colours). Kyrie gives him a stunning smile, and Nero can't help but smile back, helpless at the fact that he's so gone for her.

Not that he regrets it.

With a few words, acknowledging Kyrie's performance and a cue for her to disappear backstage, the lights dim once more, the audience applauding modestly. Nero risks a glance to the side, towards the part nearest the stage, and sure enough, the General, Credo, is there. He's clapping a little more enthusiastically than usual, and Nero totally gets it.

After all, who _wouldn't_ clap after hearing Kyrie sing? Assholes, that's who.

The lights come back on, all the lights in the Opera House, in fact, and Kyrie isn't on the stage anymore. Instead, the old leader of the Order, Sanctus – or more commonly referred to as His Holiness – is taking his place behind the podium, a heavy book being carried by his helpers then placed before him.

Nero sighs deeply, already feeling the boredom coming. How do the others (namely Credo, Kyrie and Novena) sit through these things? Sheer power of will? Stubbornness? Nero could honestly not get it; His Holiness voice is as stimulating as watching a plant bloom.

For Kyrie, probably, the girl is too nice, too respectful to do anything but listen to the sermon with rapt attention, pray, stand, kneel and repeat the words when cued.

While Credo and Novena… they're the quintessential Holy Knights, the _perfect_ soldiers of the Holy Army. They probably listen to sermons because they actually manage to understand it and contemplate on it like the old people that they are.

Speaking of boring talks, Nero can remember Novena being part of the select group that is taught by the Order's head of research. Whoever that guy is, Nero doesn't know, but he knows that he was _supposed_ to be amongst the hand-picked children to receive exclusive lessons. He's aware that whatever is being taught to those hand-picked kids, is that those aren't allowed to be shared with anyone else, not even with their superior.

Nero learnt that particular rule the hard way. He had asked (bothered, really) Novena several years ago, but all he got was a laugh, a whack on the head and then got sent back to training.

Bitch.

Nero shifts, and the soft poking at his side reminded him of something _very important_. He shifts once more, to get comfortable, and he reaches inside his coat to with draw a long, thin box. The box itself has a light blue colour, and tastefully tied around is a slim, gold ribbon.

His gift for Kyrie.

Nero can't help but smile down at it, remembers seeing it at a shop. The pendant had caught his attention, practically called to it. It's shaped like a four winged angel, the top most pair outstretched, as if readying to take flight, and the bottom most pair is snugly wrapped around the rose red gem at the centre, as if protecting it. The gem is a work of beauty, no doubt the really reason for its hefty price, but Nero can't bring himself to care much about money when he brought it.

After all, Kyrie's worth it.

So with one last smile towards the box, he sets it beside himself, so Kyrie could see it before she would sit beside him. Novena would probably heckle him for giving the gift like that, but what does she know? Unlike him, Novena has _never_ fallen in love.

Nero knows, because Novena keeps mentioning it. And she never lies.

Nero sees Kyrie coming from the corner of his eyes, and he'll forever deny the sudden surge of panic that filled him for the briefest moment. He's faced down countless demons, has seen his own arm mutilated just a few months ago, has _dared_ to talk back to Credo. It wouldn't do for people to see him flustered just because of a girl's presence.

(Well, that girl is Kyrie but the point still stands-)

Kyrie steps up beside him, smiling warmly, and Nero is almost struck dumb by how _pretty_ she is.

_Be cool Nero, be cool_. The Knight tells himself, forcing down the blush that is trying to creep up to his face. _Novena says it's better to play it suave. You can do it._

So Nero takes a casual glance at Kyrie, and then turns away, pulling up his headphones and covering one ear with it.

_Nero, you dumbass_.

Nero watches Kyrie from the corner of his eyes, and he can't deny (this time) that his heart soared when she picks up the blue box, reverent and ecstatic. Kyrie shoots him her warmest smile as she takes a seat, clutching the box to her chest and inching just a little closer to Nero.

Okay, okay, he can do this; it's just Kyrie. No need to panic.

It didn't work, Nero's slowly getting keyed up as His Holiness finally begins the sermon, and so to calm himself a bit, he places the headphones around his ears properly, turning it on and letting rock music fill his mind and level his heartbeat to reasonable levels. It drowns out His Holiness' droning voice, and Nero watches everyone absently, as they went through the motions as cued by His Holiness.

Near the end of the half-hour mark, when His Holiness had probably implored them all to bow their heads and pray, Nero is already bored to tears, and he's had too many jaw-breaking yawns already.

Time to blow this joint.

With a huff, Nero stands up, the only splash of vibrant colours in the sea of whites, browns and greys. Kyrie looks up, confusion in her eyes.

"Nero, what's wrong?" She whispers, worried and concerned for him.

Nero grimaces, looking down at her as he inches his way out of the pew. "All this preaching is putting me to sleep," He whispers back, minding his volume for Kyrie's sake. "I'm outta here."

He does just that, taking long strides towards the exit. He hears Kyrie scurry after him, making a confused noise in the back of her throat-

His right arm throb and _glows_, and Nero freezes on the spot as soft blue light escapes the confines of his bound arm. His left hand grips his right wrist, and ice slithers down his back. Like he can see a snake hidden in the grass by his feet, waiting to strike.

_Danger, danger, danger_-

Nero looks up at the skylight, and not a moment too late.

It shatters, light flooding in and glass shards raining down the stage of the Opera House. Someone jumps down, a man in red, and the interloper's coat flares out, like wings of blood as he falls from the skylight.

With the grace of a cat and the lightness of a bird, he lands on the podium, before His Holiness. And then, a split second of silence, a split second of absolute stillness-

_BANG_!

Nero's senses go haywire, and the scent of gunpowder and coppery blood fills his nose. He grabs Kyrie's arm and herds her behind him, where she's safe, and Nero can see the others, the citizens and the Knights lift their heads from their prayers, at the sound of gunfire.

The man in red rises to his feet, all languorous movement and unbothered countenance. He turns to face the people, and across his face…

Is blood.

Screams fill the air as the citizens panic and flee, and Nero pushes himself and Kyrie back, pushing them both back against the wall to avoid the wave of terrified people and avoid getting swept away by their panic.

"Your Holiness!" Credo yells, wretched and afraid, and he draws his Durandal as he charges forward to fight. The other Knights follow suit, drawing their own standard Caliburns, and they surround the man in red, swords at the ready. They attack-

Only to for the man in red to massacre them, running them through with that pitch black blade of his, as long as he was tall, singing through the air, cutting the Knights down one after the other, with contemptuous ease. Credo had broken away, going to the dead vicar's side, and he flees with the body, two helpers carrying His Holiness's corpse as Credo guards them in case the man in red goes after them.

But Nero… Nero can't move, frozen as he is as his eyes take in everything, takes in the chaos and the carnage. He can't look away, can't turn his eyes elsewhere, can't even _move_ his feet to flee with Kyrie.

There's a brief lull in the battle at the stage, when the man in red has decimated the guards, and there's no one to obstruct his view of Nero. The man in red stares at him, unmoving like a stone gargoyle, and Nero can't breathe.

Not when the same snow white hair, and the same blue eyes stare at him from a stranger's face.


	3. hell came unto earth

**[NOVENA]**

Hell came unto earth in a split second.

That is all Novena can say about how the peaceful day went from good to an absolute disaster; as she watched Scarecrows pour into the city like a tidal wave, as she watched the citizens of Fortuna get cut down before her very eyes. Watched the very citizens she had sworn her life to protect cut down without any shred of mercy.

Demons poured forth from all nooks and crannies, seemingly out of nowhere, overtaking the streets and even the rooftops in a blink of an eye. Their foul laughter fill the air, the cacophony of the damned mixing with the terrified screams of their human victims to make a death song.

An anguished scream tears itself from her throat, and she fights the urge to fall to her knees in despair, fights the urge to just curl up and cry. But she can't, she can't fold, can't break, because she's a Knight of the Order, a Holy Knight sworn to the service of the Saviour, Sparda.

She doesn't have the time to be a weak person.

"Run!" She roars as she makes her way forwards, going against the tide of the fleeing citizens. "Run towards the Order's Headquarters! Run as fast as you can, and don't look back!"

Novena rips away her coat and hood, as they would only hinder her, tossing it aside. For once, she can't care that she's treating her uniform irreverently. After all, what is her coat to the lives of her people? She draws her blades, her Caliburn on her right, and the short sword on her left, and she dives into battle.

Her usual grace and dance are foregone in favour of faster, far more brutal blows that kills the demons in one strike. No time for her usual antics, what she needs to be right now is a demon a hunter, a vicious one at that.

Novena whips her head around at the sound of a shrill scream, and she sees a child, no older than ten, and a Scarecrow is towering over him, laughing and raising its bladed arm to strike.

The female Knight kicks the Scarecrow in front of her, sending it careening clumsily towards the other demons behind it, and Novena wastes no time in running over to the child. She pounces, face twisted in a snarl, and she drives her blade deep into the Scarecrow, skewering it with no hope of escape.

Novena looks over her shoulder, at the child. "Run! Go!" She barks, and bless the Saviour's name, the child flees immediately. Novena turns back to the demon immediately, wrenching her Caliburn free and then whirling to deliver a punishing kick to a Scarecrow creeping up on her. A Scarecrow lunges for her, snake-fast, and she's forced to bend backwards, narrowly dodging its arm blade.

Using the momentum, she jumps, corkscrewing with her weapons outstretched. Her Caliburn decapitates two of them, while her short sword deflects another oncoming blade. Novena lands on her feet, curled up in a crouch, and she darts up, planting her foot firmly against one demon.

Using them as stepping stones, Novena hastily makes her way to a massive pile of rubble made of crushed cars and broken bits of buildings. Novena climbs atop it, snarling in fury when one of the Scarecrows comes after her, and it meets its end by her blade, cleanly bisected in half.

"Citizens of Fortuna, flee to the Order!" Novena hollers at the top of her lungs, and it works beautifully; people are fleeing towards the gates, no longer panicked and mindlessly fearful. And most of all, the demons are turning towards her, and not the populace. Better for demons to concentrate on her; at the very least, she's trained to handle demons. "Find the Knights, and stick close to them! Do not panic!"

Novena watches the people disappear, faster and faster, and when the gates clang close, the magical seals – demonic deterrents, mild but would suffice for now – activate. The female Knight breathes in pure, unadulterated relief; she may have failed in saving everyone, but she saved _most_. Fortuna will live again, will recover and once more walk towards the future. She had made sure of it.

Novena risks a glance around, and her heart breaks at the bodies of the fallen, cut down and murdered by these accursed beings. These foul beings that don't deserve to walk their world, much less have the right to _live_.

The female Knight shakes her head, lips thinning in determination. She raises both weapons, her Caliburn braced against a shoulder, and her short sword held out in front of her in both offensive and defensive stance. Demons laugh all around her, as if mocking her, as if laughing at what she's planning to do. Novena pays them no mind, breathing deeply and squashing her fear and doubts. Those have no place here, not right now, because she has a duty to uphold, a mission to carry out.

"In the name of the Knight, of the Dark Blade, of the Glorious Rebellion..." Novena whispers, the prayer falling from her lips as easy as breathing. "Saviour Almighty, grant me strength to hold up the blade that is promised to defend humanity. Grant me the courage to face my fears, and the demons of the depths. Grant me the soul that endures hardships, endures suffering. Guide me, protect me, and empower me. Allow to me to join You in this Holy War… amen."

She's trapped, alone in the business district teeming with demons. She's alone, one Knight against a legion of demons. She's alone, separated from the rest of the Order, isolated and vulnerable. Like this, with the odds stacked so much against her, her chances of getting out of this alive is… is almost none. Novena actually doubts she'll get out of this _at all_, what with her standing on a false island of rubble and broken things, surrounded by a sea of demons.

She would most likely die here.

How fitting, that Novena would die during the Festival of the Blade. She would go down in glory, would go down fighting, just like the Saviour. She'll die like the Knight that she is, die upholding her mission until her last breath.

She only hopes Kyrie and Nero could forgive her.

At some unknown command, the Scarecrows leap into the air, blades raised high in the air. Novena looks up at them, and determination settles in her gut, knocks away her fear, her doubts. It leaves her steady, unshaking, unyielding in the face of certain death.

She'll fight.

Novena leaps up to meet them, driving her Caliburn deep into a Scarecrow, and she twists, just in time to bring the stabbed Scarecrow into the path of another's blade. The demon is cleaved in half, and it dissipates, so Novena twists, back arching, legs swinging to gain momentum. She hooks a foot around a Scarecrow's neck, and she pulls herself up to it, using it as a platform as she swipes her short sword across its neck. She jumps off of it, heading for the next demon. Novena executes a front flip, the heel of her boot – coated in blessed steel – connecting with the demon and sending it crashing downwards, with the ripple effect of sending the other demons below to scatter and clear out a space.

Novena allows herself to fall, swords whirling, and she takes out the Scarecrows nearest to her in a circle, widening the cleared area. She twirls her short sword and stabs it into the first Scarecrow, the one she kicked to the ground, and Novena momentarily stabs her Caliburn into the ground, before reaching with her now free hand and grabbing a glass orb from her hip pouch.

Holy water.

Novena slams the orb into the ground, and concentrated holy energy ripples outward in a brutal wave. The bluish white light passes through demons, making them scream and shriek and shrivel, killing them. It didn't take out all the demons, of course things wouldn't be that easy, but it does kill quite a sizeable amount, and giving Novena more breathing room.

Two more holy water orbs, before her chances of surviving disappears completely. She better make it count, take down as much of the demons before death takes her.

Novena nods to herself, and reaches into her hip pouch once more, withdrawing a small glass vial. Novena smiles humourlessly, freeing her Caliburn once more as she sheathes her short sword for a moment.

Now, the swords made by the Order – Durandals for the officers and special operatives (like Nero), and Caliburns for the lower ranked Knights – have a special mechanism called the fuel inject system. What it does it that the engines at the hilt of the sword coats the blade in an accelerant, spreading it along the length of the weapon. Now the blade itself if made from a special metal that causes sparks _criminally_ easy. Coupled with the accelerant, well… Knights of the Order has learnt to wield blades of fire, like the Angels of Paradiso.

Nero, as a special note, has modified his to give a bigger output, meaning bigger flames. To the point that it can cause explosions, really. There's a reason Nero had christened his sword as Red Queen, after all.

Novena has her own changes to the injection system, with the help of Nero. After all, she's not as physically strong as her brothers in faith. It's only logical that Novena does something to even out the playing field.

Instead of coating her Caliburn with the accelerant, Novena's customized system injects _holy water_ onto the blade. Not as explosive, or flashy, but just as fatal.

And so Novena twists the handle of her Caliburn, revealing an empty cartridge, and she pours the contents of the vial into it, pouring every last drop to make sure. She twists the handle once more, closing it, and she wraps her hand around the handle and the trigger this time. She pulls on it, and her Caliburn _screeches_ as the engine works and activates.

The grooves etched onto the sides of the blade fill and lead the holy water throughout the length of her Caliburn, and while it doesn't give of the warm orange glow of the others', doesn't blaze like Nero's, the liquid makes her sword shinier, much more glossy and with the faintest shade of blue tinting it.

As her short sword is too small to support the fuel inject system, only her Caliburn could be coated with a constant trickle of holy water. Novena changes her grip, wraps both hand around her sword's handle while her short sword remains secured at its sheathe. The female Knight settles into a different stance, more a warrior's than a dancer's, and the tip of her blade gleams in the morning sun.

As the demon in her direct line of sight laughs, Novena lunges.

Her usual style – the one she's most comfortable with – involves movements incorporated directly from her dance lessons. Pirouettes, twirls, dips, and the like. Nero once called it too girly, too delicate, but Novena made it work. Made it work _well_. In her hands, with her training and capabilities, those delicate and girly movements are capable of killing demons just as well as the standard form.

This style, however, is different as it involves the least amount of movement, the quick progression of one foe to another. Economy of movement at its finest, because this style, coupled with her coated sword… it only needs _one_ clean swipe (_3 inches long, 3 inches deep, on one of the 3 kill spots-_) and the demon - especially cannon fodder like these ones - dies.

Novena howls when a Scarecrow lands a solid slice on her back, ripping the back of her uniform and the flesh underneath. She grits her teeth, feels the torturous burning wrought from demon venom, but she pushes on, aiming for necks as she ducks and weaves through the demon horde.

She keeps fighting, on and on until her arms burn, her once pristine uniform now drenched in the red of her blood. The edges of her sight is dimming, fading in and out of focus as pain courses through her body. She's not undamaged, far from it, and her body is littered with cut and gashes, her only saving grace is her agility allowing her to turn fatal strikes into not-as-fatal ones.

She knows she won't last long, though. Losing too much blood, and there's still more than half of the horde to deal with.

Novena shakily grabs her second holy water from her pouch, and she tosses it into the crowd of demons. It explodes in the usual white wave, and the Scarecrows shriek and scream as they die, convulsing violently before bursting and dissipating into nothingness.

The brief respite also allowed Novena to refuel her sword, the injection system coating her blade once more with the anti-demon liquid.

"Heh, quite the… quite the action, it seems…" Novena murmurs to herself, coughing a bit as her lungs rattled within her ribcage. She spits out a glob of blood, and she grimaces at it. She may be used to the sight of blood and gore and demon mush, still, it's always unpleasant.

Undoubtedly, this is one of Novena's greatest mission, easily surpassing the one where she had lead a hunt for an aberrant Frost just a year ago, her last mission with the General's Squad. That Frost was on the cusp of evolution, almost a _Greater Demon_. Massive, powerful and one of Novena's greatest kills.

That one can't compare to the sheer significance of this battle, though.

A literal fight for her life. Facing against a legion of demons, with no backups or anyway to get support from the Order. Her being the only one standing between the damned and the citizens of Fortuna.

This battle, is far more _glorious_.

"As I walk the flaming halls of Hell… I shall fear no demon, for You are with me." Novena prays, staggering back onto her feet. She heaves up her Caliburn, bracing it and levelling the sharp tip towards the demons. "Your Blade, and Your Covenant… they comfort me. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows.

"Surely… Surely, honour and glory will follow me, when I take up my sword." Novena manages a grin, all bloody and horrific. "I will join the ranks of your Legion… forever*."

Novena grabs her last holy water, and she dives back into the fray. Slamming the orb down, another wave of divine power washes over them, purifying the disease from her wounds and restoring a bit of her health, and destroying her enemies.

Novena fights with renewed vigour, her sword singing through the air as she fought and killed and destroyed demons left and right. Her eyes alight not with glee, but acceptance. Acceptance that this place will be her grave, the end of the line for her. From the placid smile on her lips, she's quite fine with it. Maybe even embraced it, even.

A Scarecrow swipes a blade against the back of her knees, and Novena howls, dropping to the ground as her tendons are cut. Her Caliburn clatters from her grasp, fallen, and Novena breathes through the pain, snarling and hissing as she bleeds, and bleeds, and _bleeds_-

A Scarecrow steps up to her, leering down at the fallen Knight with its faceless head. It laughs, mocking and excited over her impending demise as it raises its bladed arm to slice her head clean off. It swings its arm, and Novena closes her eyes.

Nothing ever came, though.

Nothing but a loud deafening _bang_.

Novena whips her head up towards the sound, and relief floods her entire being so strongly she can't help but sob, tears springing to her eyes as Nero stands atop the roof of the nearest building, and his gun, Blue Rose, in hand.

The white haired Knight shoots down the demons, first the ones around Novena and quickly proceeding to the other demons. He reloads, fast as lightning, and he even manages to toss an orb of holy water, making it explode near Novena as a form of protection. The Scarecrows shriek and howl, and miracle of miracles, they abandon Novena in favour of going after Nero, the demons leaping up at the sides of the building and clawing their way up if they're able to.

Novena used to detest Nero's pet project, but she can and will shamelessly take back everything she said or thought about Blue Rose.

The female Knight slumps on the ground, breathing heavily and trying to recover. As much as she could with the lack of legs, anyways. "Saviour bless that boy…" Novena murmurs, wiping away the tears of relief and trying to stop herself from shaking.

Nero lobs another holy orb, and a massive group of demons are vaporized. For some odd reason, the demons seem to be _flocking_ to Nero, instead of aiming for him because of his distraction. Nero then smirks down at her, all cocky arrogance and thinly veiled relief. "Your age catching up with you, hag?" He drawls, diligently shooting down demons. "Joints getting rickety?"

Novena laughs despite herself, for once extremely amused by the younger Knight's jab at her status as his elder. "I can't even get mad at you right now, you absolute brat." Novena shot back, laughing under her breath. "Thank you, Nero. I wasn't sure if I…"

"You rest up," Nero interrupts firmly. "I'll handle these guys. Here, keep it on you."

Nero tosses his last holy water at her, and Novena manages to catch it with her shaking hands. She holds it close to her, her last line of defence as she rests there, immobile and vulnerable.

And she watches, entrusting the demons to Nero, who keeps firing and firing that gun of his. Novena momentarily entertains the thought of getting a gun for herself, but she quickly dismisses that idea. She isn't a rule breaker, unlike Nero who relishes in toeing the line. It would be convenient though, to have a weapon that can dispatch enemies at a distance.

Nero, the miracle baby that he is, _decimates_ the remains of the horde with just a _gun_. Novena sits there, disbelieving but mostly frozen in sharp relief and gladness.

She stayed in the business district fully expecting to die. Fully expecting to be overrun by the damned beings and torn to shreds.

Saviour bless Nero, indeed.

Novena can't stop herself; she flops down on her back and lets out a laugh, hysteric and a whole lot relieved, to come out alive in a mission she had expected to end with her _death_. She's sobbing as well, her hands shaking violently and her breathing coming just a little too fast to be good.

"Hey, _hey_! Hag!" Novena turns her head, looking up at Nero who is still on the roof top, leaning over the edge with panic written clearly across his features. "You alright?"

"I-I'm fine!" Novena replies, struggling to sit back up. Pain lances down her legs, and she watches the blood pool beneath her legs. She must look a quite the sight, drenched in her own blood as it is. "Actually, no, I'm bleeding so much."

She sees Nero move, easily climbing over the railing, no doubt to jump down to the ground to reach her.

"No!" Nero freezes, eyes wide. Novena clears her throat, wincing at the motion. "No, don't bother climbing down."

Nero scowls, eyebrows furrowed. "But you're injured, you dumb old lady!" He retorts, obviously panicking despite the cool façade he always wears. "Or did your fight knocked around the bits and bobs in your noggin and gave you Alzheimer's?!"

Day by day, Nero's insult increase in creativity. It's almost impressive, if they weren't so infuriating. Novena manages to smile up at the younger Knight though, trying to convey as much reassurance in her expression and eyes. "I'll be fine, Nero. The area is cleared, no more demons in sight. Besides, I have…" Oh. Oh dear. "… a Vital Star."

Nero gives her his blankest look possible. "You forgot you have a Vital Star in your pouch the whole time." It wasn't a question. It was a statement declaring her stupidity.

Maybe Nero is right in her having Alzheimer's…?

Novena fished the aforementioned item from her pouch, and there it is, still mostly full, undamaged and ready for consumption. The face carved into the side seems to be laughing at her, mocking Novena.

The female Knight just throws her head back, and _laughs_.


	4. the crimson assassin

**[DANTE]**

Fortuna, as Dante found out, is absolutely _overflowing_ with demons. Arguably even worse than Red Grave City, and that's saying something considering demon, devils, and what-have-yous naturally flock to Dante because of his blood. So for demons to practically make this island a _nest_… well.

Either someone, or multiple someones, are being naughty. Very, very naughty.

"People don't just want to leave things alone, do they?" Dante asks the beautiful Fortuna morning, traversing the rooftops in the high-class sector of the city and quickly crossing into the abandoned area. The wind changes course, and the scent of demons practically assault his nostrils. He makes a face, silently leaping down to a lower building.

Following the scent, it leads him to the side overlooking the street. What he sees makes him drop his jaw.

A young man, probably no older than 20, maybe way lower than that, is going up against a crowd of Scarecrows _without a weapon_. The kid's blue and red coat (and isn't the union of those colours _familiar?_) flutters around him as the kid punched and kicked, killing demons left and right with an ease that's impossible for a human.

But judging from that painfully familiar snow white hair… There's more to this kid than being a prodigious demon killer-

Oh would you look at that? Kid got some serious balls! Using a Scarecrow's very own blade as a makeshift sword to make things quicker, killing the pesky little demons at a rapid clip. The kid's talented, Dante could admit. A little on the wild side with his attacks, but there's an odd grace to it, an animalistic quality to it that is no less mesmerizing to look at. Look at him go, too! Running horizontally on the wall like that.

… Honestly, the way this kid reminds Dante of _himself_ (so many ago, relatively innocent and naïve-) is unsettling.

Who is this kid, and why do they share _so_ much resemblance?

Dante remembers bits and pieces of his own childhood, faint memories of his Mom and his dearest big brother. Dante remembers Mom tell them stories about their deadbeat dad, stories he told her before they had Dante and his brother.

Much like Dante and Vergil… Sparda had a twin. Sparda had a twin, as Devils with powerful blood tends to breed pairs to ensure bigger chance of survival for their line, enhances the chance of successful reproduction for their spawns' generation, too. Sparda had a twin, but unlike Sparda, that one didn't survive. Killed in combat, way before Sparda rebelled against Mundus.

So this is why Dante never looked for more of his kin, more hybrids who are related to him by blood, because he _knows_ his uncle, Serxes (or something like that, he probably got the name wrong), has been dead a long time ago.

This kid's existence in making Dante question _many_ things. He's sure as hell this kid isn't his; he would've been able to smell himself on the precocious little brat, and while Dante is indeed irresponsible, it's not to the point where he'd just, you know, _abandon_ the kid.

Dante's _not_ his Dad, the _almighty_ Sparda. Dante's _not_ like Vergil who wants to be Dad.

Dante is roused from his pensive thoughts when he hears the kid swear out – ooh, what a mouth this one got – and Dante straightens, watching the kid bolt from the street, with a speed that is clearly inhuman. Dante also notes the direction the kid is gunning for, and he has to be intrigued.

Why, oh _why_… would the kid head in the direction of where energies of corrupted humans are coming from…?

Fortuna is such a weird place, honestly.

Dante hangs back for a little longer, just in case the kid gets a whiff of him; can't be too careful in jobs with a hell (oh hey a pun!) lot of variables and unknowns. There's a reason Dante's been a hunter for years, and the top dog at that job. He knows what he's doing.

Well, mostly. He usually wings it and just turn things around when they go upside down, sideways, and all around crazy.

When Dante had deemed it enough, he springs into action, leaping and running across rooftops with enviable ease. He quickly makes his way to the large, domed building, and his senses – physical and demonic – are practically _howling _at him the nearer he is. He fights the urge to sneeze like a shotgun; the scent of corrupted humans is _irritating_.

Lady was right to bring her concerns to him; this… 'Order of the Sword' (and wasn't _that_ pretentious?) seems to be more than a simple religious military in charge of this middle-of-nowhere island. Not only do they, uh, worship Dad – honestly, people are so weird, why would they do that …? – but they also have been abnormally active lately.

From what Lady reported, this Order had interfered with a ton of outside jobs, jobs taken by other hunters and _stealing_ the most valuable prize of Devil hunts.

Devil Arms.

It's not like humans could _effectively_ use Devil Arms – Devil Arms tend to try and eat human wielders, after all – but those work as trophies wonderfully. Why do you think Dante has his prized collection mounted up the walls? They're both decorative _and_ functional, after all.

Ah, but he digresses.

The Order of the Sword, basically, are raising a lot of red flags for their recent aberrant behaviour. First, they've been much more active in spreading the faith of Sparda's Covenant (Dante has to wonder if that was actually a thing). Second, their sudden mad rush for Devil Arms (_but what for_?) is very much a cause for concern. And last but not the least is Dante's most recent discovery.

The presence of corrupted humans.

And the real kicker with that one is they're not locked away! Dante has seen a few, when he was over at the market district earlier. Some are mingling with the civilians, some are doing routine patrols, some are even playing hooky, passed out behind some stalls and snoozing instead of doing their jobs. It's concerning because they're _not_ violent, mindless shells of people that would just kill and kill and kill.

Whoever made this corruption possible is… Well. A thought to be tackled again later.

Right now, Dante has reached the building- oh. Someone's singing. Kudos' to their voice, it's really sensational. Not to mention those high notes! Mom could sing, but guess who didn't get that talent? Dante and Vergil. Couldn't even hold a note to save their lives.

Dante settles down on the roof, away from prying eyes, and he absently picks out the corrupted humans from the crowd inside the building. Two, three, four, five… if those people standing in formation around the central are guards, then _all_ of them are corrupted. One of them stronger than the others, standing closer to the stage.

The one with the strongest corruption, however…

Ah, that one is climbing up the stage now, practically _oozing_ demonic energy. It wouldn't take a lot to force this guy to become a full out artificial demon, really. Tsk, tsk, tsk. What is the little Order of the Naughty Ones doing, Dante wonders.

Obviously nothing good. But to _what _extent…?

Better find out right? And what better way than cause panic and make tongues looser than-

Dante drops down the skylight, shattering it, and would you look at that, he's right on top of the podium looking thing! Convenient, and a cool entrance. Let's see if these corrupted humans _don't_ panic.

He drops down, landing with a solid thud in front of the naughtiest one of all. The old man's eyes widen at the sight of him, recognition – and is that the slightest bit of glee in his eyes? – filling his expression. Tsk, tsk, that wouldn't do.

He normally doesn't do this, but… The Order of Naughty Ones could prove extremely dangerous if left unchecked. Better nip the problem in the bud before they cause world-wide chaos.

Dante pulls out Ivory from its holster, aims it at the old man between the eyes, and pulls the trigger before he could second guess himself. He shouldn't hesitate here, shouldn't look at things with rose-coloured glasses. Who knows what will happen if he's too soft. Too kind.

Ivory's resounding bang is too loud in the silence of the establishment, and the blood that splashes across his face is a little too warm. A little too musky-smelling to be from a human. He can already taste it; the dark, bitter flavour of demonic taint in the blood.

He rises on his feet and oh, _eugh_, they have a statue of _Dad_. Fancy and all that; made of _marble_, wow these guys don't play around with their 'worship'… Dante rolls his eyes minutely, before looking down and surveying the body to make sure it's actually _dead_. When it doesn't get back up, doesn't reform into an unholy creature, Dante turns around to the chaos he caused.

Once upon a time, young Dante, Son of Sparda, would feel bitterness and confusion when he sees people running away from him in fear.

That Dante is long gone now, gone like the brother he lost in that damned tower.

It didn't take long for Dante to be surrounded by the other corrupted humans, their twisted visages hidden beneath heavy cowls and steel helms. They draw their sword on him, readying themselves for an attack. There's purpose to their movement, clearly trained operatives with the easy way the move with those fancy swords of theirs, the easy way they move to cover each other.

Not that it would help.

Dante leaps into action, kicking one in the chest – oof, the ribcage caved in – and blasting that one away. He turns, drawing his every trusty Rebellion from his back.

Swords from all sides come for his head, and he ducks, pushing up Rebellion's blade to catch them in a parry. He twists, deflecting the swords with ease. A simple thing to do, considering his nonhuman strength can't be matched by them, corrupted human or not.

He dodges and parries attacks, kicking away at some and stabbing the others in the gut or chest. He made sure to keep all his hits as kill shots. These guys are no longer humans, therefore Dante has to regretfully include them under the 'threat' section of his enemy listings. Ugh, sucks when the job goes batshit insane.

And it's not even noon yet!

When the no one else attacks, Dante braces Rebellion on his shoulders-

Ah. The kid. There he is, in all his punk-ish glory, right arm wrapped in a sling – is that thing _glowing_? – and he looks like he's seen a ghost, seen something so honestly terrifying he can't move. The girl behind him – a pretty little thing, maybe his girlfriend? – is in the same situation.

Come on kid, get out, keep your girl away from this mess! Sheesh. No romance points for this one, absolutely zero-

Oh, there they go! So the lil' punk does have a brain beneath that white fluff of his. Dante watches the kid run away, pulling his little girlfriend along as they join the fleeing mob.

Dante turns when he hears something behind him, and it's a few more regular guards, along with the stronger one. Stronger one got some rad looking beard on, along with that pinched look in his eye that sends 'Uptight Dude' signals to Dante. Yikes, a troublesome one, this guy.

Dante starts forward, intent on having to kill the man, but one of the small fry comes at him, sword raised and screaming something about 'for His Holiness'. Dante can't help but scowl, and he stabs the guys in the gut, tossing him aside-

"Kyah!" A thud, and the sound of _two_ bodies hitting the floor.

That can't be right.

Dante turns, looking over his shoulder. To his shock – not that he lets it show on his face – Little Miss Cute is there, the shoulder of her dress stained red. Probably where the guy's corpse hit her before sending the both of them to the floor.

She's petrified of him, that much Dante could see. It's clear in her eyes, the way she's shaking like a leaf, the way the scent of fear is cloaking her like a thick fog. Dante peers down at her. Why, oh why, does she charge towards the carnage, like a fool?

A roar of fury comes from the side, and Dante turns his head-

_Oh, hello boots._

Dante is sent flying back from the force of the kid's kick – demonic heritage, alright – so far back that Dante _reaches_ his dad's statue. Dante could only gape for a moment before schooling his expression, the sound of gunshot forcing him to twist around to deflect the bullet, correction; _bullets_, with the flat of Rebellion's blade.

He didn't take into account the sheer _power_ behind those shots, the first bullet causing a small explosion that really sent him to Sparda's statue this time. Dante lands, feet braced against the base of the statue's horns, and he looks up in alarm when the kid is up in the air, face twisted in a fearsome scowl.

Dante brings up Rebellion, only for the kid to kick it down _and_ into the statues forehead. The kid would've done more, Dante's sure of it, but he had rolled to the side, dodging, and he whips out Ebony and Ivory, aiming it at the kid.

Kid is aiming a gun at him too, a beauty of a revolver; silver-finish barrel, with tasteful carvings Dante couldn't quite see clearly from this angle. It's quite a whopper, judging from the size. The real kicker, though, are the _twin-muzzles_. So considering the single sound of gunfire, but the two bullets fired, that sweetheart of his goes for two at the same time, huh.

"Kyrie!" The kid yells, his words probably aimed at the girl down below. Dante spares them a quick glance, and to his slight relief, the girl is being herded away, away from the danger zone by the man with the beard and a worrying amount of latent demonic powers. "Take your brother and go! Get outta here!"

"I will return with help!" Beard man replies, and oh, shit. That guy is the girl's – Kyrie, was it? – brother? It went from 'hoo boy' to '_hoo boy_' real quick. Dante has to wonder if the little girl knows what the kid and her brother are. "You stall him until then!"

Mm, doubtful, but Dante figures he can give the kid a shot.

He needs to know, if the kid's white hair and blue eyes mean _anything_ aside from his physical features. He needs to know, if this kid knows what his colours mean. Dante needs to know.

_Needs to know who this kid really is_.

"I won't hold my breath…" The kid mutters, tossing his head and sending the headphones sitting around his neck flying off somewhere. Kid fixes Dante with a rather piercing glare, and fires of his gun.

Dante jumps up, coat flaring, and he isn't given time to breathe and regroup when suddenly the kid is on _him_; legs, deceptively thin, wrap around his torso, squeezing and putting out some serious power. Dante mentally grimaces at the discomfort and reaches out with Ebony, aiming for the kid's head.

In response, wonder boy releases one leg and _wraps it around Dante's arm_ – that's some _freaky_ levels of flexibility right there – yanking it away and throwing Dante's aim off course.

Dante tries with Ivory this time, and the kid goes and _bites_ on the damn barrel, fighting like a feral dog. All he's missing are the red eyes and saliva dripping past lips pulled back from bared teeth.

With a snarl of effort, the kid twists, letting gravity and momentum aid him in kicking Dante in the chest, sending him right back to the statue's forehead, and thus, Rebellion. The hunter makes to move for his sword, but the other one is relentless, stomping down with both feet on Rebellion's handle, practically tearing it out of the marble and sending the tip almost slicing Dante across the face, if he hadn't moved back in time. Not that it would really hurt him; Rebellion, despite its name, it is very much loyal to him.

Dante leaps up to catch Rebellion, and he brings it down on the kid's head with an overhead swing. He blocks it with his _gun_, of all things, but to Dante's surprise, the gun doesn't even get a _gash_ from the hit. Kid rolls down the space between the stone sword and the statue's body, and he stretches one leg out, skidding to a stop. Dante had just landed on the statue, but he's forced to relocate to the sword's pommel, when the kid shot at him from where he's stuck between the statue and the sword.

The sword trembles, and suddenly its tipping forward, the statue's hands breaking as the kid _shoves_ at the sword with his legs.

Really, now. Who is this kid? With the same white hair and same blue eyes as him?

_Who is he_?

Kid is charging up the sword angrily, snarling like a furious pup, and he brings his revolver up, aiming for Dante's head, and the red clad hunter bats him away, pushing him to the side as Dante himself leaps away.

Dante lands lightly on his feet, and he looks around, whistling under his breath at the sheer damage their short scuffle had brought. If he reads the kid's intention right, he's going to fight Dante – kill him, probably – and that'll most likely end up with this place beyond salvation.

Good thing Dante wouldn't be the one paying for repairs this time.

"You got a jacked up notion of fair play pal," Kid growls, and Dante turns to him, amused. Fair play? When it comes to demons, that's not a thing you should ever consider. He keeps quiet though, content to let the kid run his mouth. "And it's beginning to piss me off."

Dante just gives the other a ghost of a smile, and he holds one hand out. Makes a 'come at me' gesture.

It causes the reaction Dante wanted, and the young man charges for him, bending low and sweeping up one of those fancy swords their organization uses with a furious bark. He does a _thing_ that Dante didn't quite catch, but suddenly the sword's blade has _flames_ licking at the surface, like, an actual sword of _fire_.

Dante can't deny that was cool.

He parries the strike aimed for his head, and he counters with his own attack, a sweeping side attack that's going to bisect the kid if he doesn't dodge. Dodge the kid did, leaping up to perform a corkscrew. His coat flutters over Rebellion's edge, and it almost distracted him from seeing the kid let go of his borrowed sword to instead draw his gun.

Dante ducks back quickly, just in time to dodge the twinned bullets, and he brings up a foot, lashing out with a kick. The kid takes it to the chest, and with a breathless gasp he's sent flying back, managing to grab his sword despite it. He skids to a stop, the sword digging deep into the floor to steady him. He spits to the side – blood, definitely – and he sneers at it, before fixing Dante a glare.

"You come into our city, kill His Holiness, and screw shit up." The kid snarls, furious. As if responding to his emotions, blue light pulses from within the confines of his sling, almost imperceptible had Dante not have better vision. "Just who the hell are you?!"

Dante decides not to answer, tilting his head to the side, thoughtful. Is the kid really upset by the death of what seems to be the head honcho…? Then does that mean this kid is in the know, is working with them? Collaborating with the rest to produce these corrupted humans?

… Is this kid the _source_ of the corrupted humans? Trish never said anything, and she's so gonna hear it from him later. Just she wait.

Dante's officially torn. On one hand, he's _dying_ to know this kid who resembles him and his brother and dad so much. Dying to know _who he is_ and just how they're connected. On the other hand… if this kid is working with these troublemakers… he needs to put the kid down. Permanently.

But first, he needs to know how this kid is involved.

So he takes out his beloved guns once more, spinning them on his fingers before letting loose a rapid barrage of bullets. Kid, to his credit, dodges with that animalistic grace of his, rolling in a tight ball and disappearing beneath some pews. Dante isn't surprised when said pews come flying straight for him, and slices the one directly in front of him-

Should he be surprised to see the kid behind that one?

Dante tilts his head to the side, the bullets missing by a mere centimetre as the kid draws his gun on him. They tangle, a gunfight at close quarters, and the kid has speed and has fancy flips and tricks on his side to give Dante a surprise, keep the older man on his toes. Dante's only saving grace is his experience, and superior skills.

If he isn't careful this kid could probably take a bite out of him, sheesh. He needs to finish this now, because as much as this kid is practically pulling on his instincts, his intuition… he's not the mission.

The investigation of the Order is.

So Dante phases to a spot behind the kid, his blind spot, and regretfully brings Rebellion down. It won't kill him, no, but it will seriously injure him. Give him a boo-boo that would incapacitate him for days, even with accelerated healing. Sorry kid.

The kid unexpectedly brings his arm up, the one in the sling, and before Dante could pull back, retreat, Rebellion is already colliding with the sling-

Bright blue light practically blinds Dante, and he phases away, Rebellion braced in front of him and another curled protectively in front of his face, a feeble attempt at defence while he blinks the spots in his vision. Shit, what in the _world_ was that?! Dante shakes his head, clears the last of the light, and looks.

Oh. Oh _wow_ that's unexpected.

The kid's right arm, from the elbow down is _decidedly_ not human. Blood red and deep blue armoured plates interlock seamlessly, kind of but not really like a snake's. There's a portion where there's a lack of protective shell, and it's curious because the flesh, grooved like some kind of big-ass fingerprint, _glows_. The fingers are tipped with claws, and those look like real bad boys, able to rend, tear and _kill_.

Kid gives him a dark smirk, bring up his right hand and flexing it, as if he hasn't used it in quite a long time. "You just _had_ to force me to use this thing, huh?" He mutters, as if to himself. He then reaches out, as if miming that he's grabbing something. To Dante's shock, a phantom limb- five, probably six times the original size, materializes. It grabs the stone sword by the handle, hefting it up and turning it towards Dante. _Hoo boy_. "Well… _your funeral_!"

The kid tosses the sword with an almighty roar, and Dante has to leap to the side to avoid being hit.

What was that?! A mutation? But that phantom limb is beyond the capabilities of a demonic mutation, it's practically a _unique skill_ exclusive only to those who are natural born demons, or more specifically _Devils_-

Dante hisses out when the kid slices across his back, drawing blood, but before Dante could retaliate or draw back, that demonic right arm is head for his face, grabbing his head and _ow_.

Kid slam dunks him on the floor like he's being paid to do it. What a violent child.

Straddling Dante, the kid punches him in the face with his right arm, over and over and _over again_, and Dante could feel _something_. Something deep within his chest, in his blood. He _knows_ this kid, he _should_. But he doesn't. Dante feels his body change in response to the matching energy wavelength, blood calling to blood, but he forces it down, doesn't let himself go because who knows what'll happen? Besides, the moment he Devil Triggers in this place it'll come crashing down.

Kid apparently has enough of using him like a punching bag, and grabbing the lapels of his red duster, the kid whirls, spinning Dante around once before throwing him right at Sparda's statue. Kid threw him so hard he loses his breath, the back of his head cracking against the marble surface-

_Thunk_.

Rebellion stabs deep into him, tearing through bone and flesh and tissue, and Dante gasps out in surprise. He could feel Rebellion's presence in the back of his mind, murmuring apologies in that wordless way it could, and it sips at Dante's blood, returning it to his body afterwards to keep him safe. Dante can't help but sag momentarily where he's pinned to the statue.

Did that _really_ just happen?

He… He really underestimated the kid, huh?

Dante sees the kid roll his shoulders, smirking smugly at his handiwork, like some cat that ate the canary. Sorry, but he needs to burst that bubble before it gets problematic.

"That's some… neat fighting you got there… _Kid_." Dante pipes up, and he's treated to the _absolute_ spectacle that is the kid turning to him with the most stupefied expression ever. Heh. "Impressed enough to give it an 'A'. For 'awesome', of course."

Dante plants both hands behind him, pushing against the marble – _ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, OW_ – until Rebellion is free. He drops to the floor with a huff. The kid backs up, puts some distance between them. Smart move.

The kid gives him a narrow eyed look. "… You aren't human, are you?" He asks, uncertainty colouring his voice.

What was his first clue? Dante walking and talking while he got a sword sticking out of his chest?

"Let's just settle with saying we have something in common." Dante replies, purposefully being vague because… he isn't entirely sure _what_ their relation is. They have a connection, which is as much as Dante can confirm by going off on the reactions of his Devil side. But in terms of specifics… he can't really say. At least, not yet. Dante settles with taking the attention off of him, by gesturing to the fallen corrupted humans. Some had their cowls and helmets take off, revealing a face that is very much not human. "… Those guys too, but a much cruder version."

The absolute horror and confusion that spread on the kid's face made Dante narrow his eyes. That's… a concerning reaction. That's genuine, meaning this kid _doesn't know_ what the hell is happening. Doesn't know the guards – or whatever they call themselves – are _corrupted humans_.

Does that mean… a far more sinister plan in the works…? Don't take it wrong, this whole thing is already giving off 'madman schemes' from the get go, but this just makes it worse.

Why does his jobs always go _sideways_? And speaking of jobs, he has things to do. Like. You know. Actually investigate and snoop around places where he shouldn't be snooping. The whole shebang.

So Dante leaps up, perching on the lip of the skylight as he addresses the kid one last time. "Though you're probably a special snowflake, a cut above the rest." He calls down helpfully, relishing the infuriated look the kid is giving him from down below.

"The hell you going on about?!" The kid demands, and it absently reminds Dante of Patty's angry Pomeranian. The pom and this kid even has the same white fluff!

Dante gives the kid a shit eating grin, and the older hunter could practically see _fumes_ pouring from his ears. "If you poke around places, do a bit of sneaking, I think you'll find your answers." No one can blame Dante if he's baiting the kid. It's for his own good, after all! "I'd tell you more but… got a job to do!"

"Hey!" The kid pulls his revolver back out and Dante swerves out of the way just in time. Really, that gun of his can pack a punch. Probably stronger than Ivory, Dante's willing to bet. If the kid could just slow down with the trigger-pulling…

Dante leans back over the broken skylight, giving him the cheekiest salute he could muster. "Adios, kid!" And Dante takes his leave, taking to the rooftops once more.

It's apparent that while he was busy inside with the kid something has happened to the city proper. He scowls as demons are practically flooding the streets, civilians and those guards in white creating more chaos with their fearful screaming and stampeding. Usually Dante would go down and give a helping hand but… those guards could probably handle these guys. They're First Circle demons, so nothing too strong with these… scarecrow looking things.

Dante resumes his travel, heading for the next destination Trish had reported to have suspicious activity-

"In the name of the Knight, of the Dark Blade, of the Glorious Rebellion..." Hm? Oho? What do we have here? Dante pauses, discretely leaning over the edge of the building and _yikes_. This part of the city is absolutely _flooded _with demons, their laughter grating in Dante's ears.

In the middle of the horde, stands a girl, no, a young woman. Maybe a little older than the kid by a couple years, maybe more. This young woman is dressed in white, reminiscent of the other guards from the Order… Wait a moment. Didn't Trish say she's assigned to a squad with the only other female operative of the Order?

Is this young woman the one Trish calls 'little dancer'? Impressive… not to mention her own _considerable_ corruption. Not to the same extent as beard guy, but almost…

"Saviour Almighty, grant me strength to hold up the blade that is promised to defend humanity. Grant me the courage to face my fears, and the demons of the depths. Grant me the soul that endures hardships, endures suffering. Guide me, protect me, and empower me. Allow to me to join You in this Holy War… amen."

Huh. Holy War, huh. Nothing _holy_ about _any_ wars.

Dante pulls back, retreats from the incoming massacre. Shame, that this kid, the one Trish says got potential, is one of them. One of the corrupted humans. If those scarecrow-like demons finish her off, then… not Dante's problem.

So he turns his back, and leaves.

He has more important things to do.


	5. a hunter after his prey

**[NERO]**

Nero can't believe it.

Novena almost died, almost got torn to shreds…

All because she _forgot_ she had a Vital Star.

Here's a thing about Novena. She's one of the _best_ the Order has to offer, is in the top three of their batch of Knights-to-be. She has her own unique fighting style, tailored to specifically suit _her_ talents and skills. So far, no one was able to replicate it, indicating to its actual complexity. Nero knows, because he himself tried and _he_ is the top one of their batch!

Moreover, many of the officers, the Executives, favour Novena, what with her 'good girl' attitude, not to mention her… work ethics. Which is comparable to a worker ant, also known as _'work, work, work, work_'. In this respect, she and their other batch mate, one of the older ones, are terrifying with the amount of work hours they could clock in per week.

Basically, Novena _potentially_ could be the perfect Holy Knight. _Potentially_ could be entered in the running for Supreme Commander of the Holy Order in a few years, even. If she lives long past that, well… Might even be the Vicar, once she's grey and wrinkly and old.

It's just that she. Could. Be. So damn. _Dumb_.

Case in point, _this_.

Nero resists the urge to palm his face, maybe give Novena a good shaking. The older Knight might be one of the better combatants, one of the better Knights, but unlike him, Novena has no safety nets, no boosts whatsoever. A plain, fragile, and very much _mortal_ human. She came so close to death today, she definitely would've died hadn't Nero arrive in time.

Good thing his hair is already like this, because Novena would give him _grey_ hairs this early in his life, what with her bullshit.

"I don't know whether to smack you, or to smack you." Nero tells the older Knight, who is currently choking down the vial of Vital Star she has on her. He doesn't get why the others keep calling the things nasty; it's actually pretty sweet? A little tangy, even. The different sizes offer different flavours, but Nero has to say the Vital Star M is his favourite for its strawberry flavour. "Or how about I toss you off the damn cliff in Caerula Beach?"

Novena finishes her Vital Star S, hacking and sputtering and she grins at Nero, her cuts and wounds already healing. Nothing can be done about the blood she already spilled, and the uniform she's torn to shreds. Still, she grins up at him, tired but ultimately fine.

"How about you head on ahead?" She replies, gesturing vaguely with her hand. "You're going for Headquarters?"

Nero shakes his head and he bites his lip, turning his body and discreetly rolling his right sleeve down to cover his… arm. "On a mission from Supreme Commander himself." Nero replies. "I'm going after His Holiness's murderer... Witness account says he's headed for Fortuna Castle."

The man in red… just _who_ is he? Who is he, who bears the same white hair, same blue eyes as the person Nero sees in the mirror, every morning, every night? Who is he, who comes to their island just to kill their leader? Who is he, who seems to know something sinister, knows of a monster that lies in wait at the bottom of their beds?

Who is he? He who took a sword to the chest, and _dares _to say they're _similar_.

Nero can't deny he's bothered, very much so, but more than that, he feels confusion. Confusion, atop anger, atop the feeling of being lost. It's not a good feeling.

He hates feeling like the world just sweeps the damn rug from under his feet, hates feeling confused and helpless.

Damn that bastard in red. To the depths of Hell, preferably.

"You should go ahead," Nero looks up, drawn out of his thoughts at Novena's voice. He's not surprised at the furious look on Novena's face; the old man was like a father to Novena, who never met her parents before they were killed in an accident. "I'll… I'll follow you in a bit. Or report back to Headquarters."

Nero could say that he personally doesn't have any attachments to His Holiness. How could he, when the man is revered as something holy, something untouchable. Outside the very rare private sermons the man holds only for the Knights, Nero rarely sees, let alone _meet,_ the Vicar of Sparda. Right now, he's pissed at the man in red, but _only _because he committed murder. Massacre. _Right in Nero's turf_. But nothing else. He can't help it.

It's hard to miss something you don't even want. Or even know.

But Novena, however…

Novena loved the old man like her own flesh and blood, looking at His Holiness both as her most divine superior and as her grandfather. Well, closer as a father, really, if Nero remembers their childhood. There wasn't any official adoptions, or whatever – Children of the Order are rarely adopted by families, as the Order _technically _had already adopted these orphans – but it was obvious to everyone that His Holiness has always favoured Novena. Like his own child, even.

Bottom line is that, with His Holiness murdered, Novena…

Novena just lost a father. The closest thing she has to a father.

And she wasn't even there to avenge him.

Nero sometimes wish he has Kyrie's way with words of comfort. Hell, even Credo's blunt assurances would work, but. He's just Nero. He can't comfort anyone to save his life, and with his own detachment with the man himself he would just mess it up and upset Novena further. Which… is the last thing he wants to do.

(He may annoy the older Knight within an inch of her life but he… he does care for her. Really.)

Nero watches her for a moment longer, trying to gauge her current state. It's clear that Novena is trying very hard to keep it together, from the way her jaw is locked, the way she's still. Too still.

Nero can't help but hesitate. On one hand, he has a personal issue with the man in red, orders or not. On the other hand, Novena…

As if hearing his thoughts, Novena looks up at him, forcing a grin onto her face. It looks horrible on her, that fake expression coupled with the blood. Her blood. "I'll be fine, Nero. I'll check in on the outpost at the market place… then make my own way." Her expression shifts, and she's good at that. Compartmentalizing to better do whatever job she has to do. "Anyway… what happened? How is Kyrie? The General? The citizens?"

Ah, this is a safer topic. Nero could talk to Novena about anything _but_ emotions. "We're not sure but we think that this," Nero waves a hand, his _left _one, to indicate the general situation. "Is the assassin's fault. No proof yet, though, so I'll be dealing with that too while I go after his ass. And Kyrie… Kyrie and Credo are fine. They escaped to Headquarters along with the rest of the folks."

At least there's that. With Kyrie safely in the Headquarters, and Credo and probably the rest of the General's squad in there, it's one of the safest place to be. Nero doesn't have to worry, if Kyrie is safe and protected. He could concentrate on the hunt and nothing else. Kyrie will be fine.

Yeah.

Nero turns to the older Knight, who is thankfully on her feet now. She's still bleeding, but not as badly as before. She's using her Caliburn as a crutch, and her short sword is hanging limply from her other hand. Nero itches to go down and help her, get her to the nearest Order outpost… but knowing her, she'd get mad at him for not prioritizing his mission.

An absolute dumbass.

"You're gonna be fine, right?" Nero asks, masking his worry with the usual rough attitude. "You need a walking cane? Your glasses? Your meds?"

"_Hah, hah, hah,_ laugh it up you brat." Novena replies, rolling her eyes with an exasperated laugh. She then straightens, standing like she doesn't need to be supported, standing like she's _not allowed_ to show any sort of weakness, _not allowed to be human_. Which is ironic, considering what Nero and Novena is. "At any rate… you should go ahead. The murderer won't capture himself."

Nero watches the older Knight hobble to one of the hidden getaway routes scattered throughout the city. Sometimes, it's infuriating and frustrating to watch Novena stubbornly stick to her pride, or her 'honour', as she calls it. Her honour as a 'Knight of the Order'. Nero is sure, that given the chance, Novena would gladly die for the cause.

Nero can't help but sneer.

"Go do your mission Nero!" Nero focuses, sees Novena halfway through the hidden entrance behind strategically placed crates. Novena's fixing him one of her looks, and Nero returns a scowl of his own. "I'll be fine. I'll even catch up with you later."

And with that, Novena ducks down into the tunnel, pulling the grate close and pulling the crates nearer to hide the entrance a bit. If Nero focuses really hard, she could hear her shuffling through the escape tunnel, the brush of her torn clothes and the wet quality to her breathing. Nero hopes that there are still Vital Stars in the outpost, or the supply caches are still fine.

Novena might be older, the higher ranked Knight, but the two of them knows that she is far weaker compared to Nero.

"Order, schorder…" The white haired Knight mutters darkly, rolling up his right sleeve once more. He flexes his hand, stepping up to the strange circular platform on the end of the balcony.

The platform lights up bright blue, and those mysterious, floating things appear in the middle of the buildings, several meters up the ground. It was just pushing the edge of… of Devil Bringer's newest _ability_. Nero takes aim and throws his hand out, as if snatching something out of mid-air, and the phantom limb appears, flying forward to latch onto the blue thing.

Nero relaxes when the phantom limb _pulls_ him off of his feet, not fighting the feeling and letting it help him speedily sail through the air like a bird. His momentum easily carries him forward a couple metres more, and he drops onto the next balcony with a smooth roll, stopping on his feet.

Nero rises with a huff, bring his Devil Bringer close to his face for inspection. Sure he hates the damn thing, but he can't deny its power and uses.

Almost half a year ago, Kyrie and some of the kids from the orphanage went to the forest for a quick field trip. It was supposed to be quick, _safe_. Nero was with them, Credo assigning him as their personal bodyguard and chauffeur.

Then an Assault came out of nowhere and mangled his arm.

Long story short, what Nero thought was an infection was actually a mutation. He may not have the taken the advanced lessons like Novena, but Nero was no idiot. He knows what a demonic infection is. Thing is the _mutation_ didn't spread throughout his body and killed him, rather it all localized itself to his right arm, from his elbow to his fingertips, and thus Devil Bringer is born.

He had trained with it, instead. What choice does he have? He needs to stay in the Order, because there he's relatively safe, definitely assured of a roof over his head, food on his table, and clothes on his back. So he trained, to get stronger, to keep his position as a special operative.

It worked, at the price of lying to people, especially ones important to him.

The things he has to do-

Nero backs up in alarm when the red web crawls over the door leading out of the balcony, and more surrounding the area, boxing him in and trapping him with Scarecrows that manifested from vortexes that appeared from the ground. Nero grimaces; those red webs are a whole bitch to deal with, and he found out the hard way. The electrocution way, to be specific.

Thankfully, to get rid of them is fairly easy. Just kill the demons in the area, and voila! He's free.

So he proceeds to do just that; slicing and dicing with Red Queen, shooting them down with Blue Rose, or outright tearing them apart with the Devil Bringer. He made quick work of the demons, mentally apologizing for making the small pond absolutely disgusting from the demon bile he spilled there, and soon enough the barrier shatters, leaving him free to progress.

And to collect the red shiny things.

Devil Bringer is useful in collecting the red shiny things – Nero _really_ doesn't know what these red things are – because the arm absorbs them, turns them into a non-corporeal form which is then stored within the magical space of his right arm.

Or some shit like that.

While he doesn't know what these red shiny… Red Orbs? Yeah, Red Orbs. He doesn't know what these Red Orbs do, exactly, but since demons have been dropping it left and right, it's probably important? Better to keep them and save them for later, just in case, than not bother and regret it later. He has quite a bit stored already, so he hopes he can find something to use them for, if they're useable at all.

Nero takes the long drop as he leaves the balcony, nonhuman physiology making it extremely easy for him, and two more Scarecrows appear in response to his arrival. Nero merely whips out Blue Rose, pulling the trigger twice and ending up with two dead demons.

Nero smirks as he saunters forward, through the narrow alley way. Ah, he remembers this path, it should open up to the edge of the trading district, as well as the edge of Port Caerula.

True to his expectations, the path opens up, widens and becomes more open spaced. To his left are the network of roads that make up the trading district, the whole place basically being a huge ass marketplace. To his right is the path leading up to the port, branching out into piers with the fishing boats and a handful of transport ships are anchored down.

That doesn't Nero though, because in front of him is… is a red crystal probably a couple heads taller than him, and three times wider.

What the hell?

Nero walks up to it, giving it a knock- oh? It dropped a Red Orb just now. Nero gives it a firmer knock, and _more_ Red Orbs chip off from it.

Nero smirks, and unleashes Red Queen on the thing.

He walks away later with a veritable fountain of Red Orbs, and his theory of the things being some sort of valuable is getting truer and truer by the minute. Nero also snooped around the area, finding more Red Orbs and a couple weird, shiny things. One that is blue and seems incomplete, and a green one that healed Nero of injuries.

Convenient.

Port Caerula was easy enough way to take to the mines, the area preceding Ferrum Hills, which is in turn a shortcut for Lamina Peaks that would take him to Fortuna Castle. Nero breezed his way through the Port, Scarecrows of differing variants popping in, and Nero made the bridge go down by shooting the control panel when it didn't respond to him in the first place.

So satisfying.

Now, Nero had crossed said bridge, pushing the aside mine entrance's heavy double doors to reveal what he thought to be a dead end. Until he noticed the floating things very obviously making him a path.

"Where the hell do these things come from, anyway?" Nero mutters to himself, briefly jumping down to the empty canal to fetch the stash of Red Orbs there, and he jumps up, latching onto one floating thingy and quickly latching onto the next one, easily pulling himself over the railing and landing on the second floor.

Nero has to pause, because there are two very, _very_ weird statues in here. Statues that he was sure wasn't here before? They don't like the statues one would get as decorations though, considering their sheer size and, well aesthetic. Fortuna is a very anti-demon place, who in their right mind would put up demonic-looking statues as decorations in their homes?

That's just asking to be raided and branded 'sinner' by the Order.

The one in the corner is snake-like, holding up a shield that seems to have a multitude of eyes – glowing blue – staring back at Nero. The figure behind the shield is staring at him with an unreadable look on its expression, but it doesn't move, doesn't do anything. It merely stands there, waiting.

The other statue is of… of a creature with a male lion's head and a female human's body, made out of the whitest marble and gilded in gold. It's carrying a massive hourglass on its back, and the lion's head is baring its fangs, as if caught mid-roar.

What the hell…?

Nero approaches the least threatening looking one, the lion (or is it a lioness?), and he stares at it for a moment, wondering what to do. Maybe he should touch it…? His Devil Bringer does all sorts of things when touching objects of obvious demonic nature.

So taking a deep breath, Nero reaches out and touches the lion statue.

_**Hail, young one. Warrior born from grand blood, warrior born from enemies' corpses. **_

Nero yanks his hand back, almost _yelling_ in shock when a voice invaded his head. The voice is timeless, featureless but _heavy_, coating his senses, his mind, almost suffocating him but not. "What the hell…?" Nero breathes deeply, wrangling his heart to stop jackhammering in his chest.

Common sense dictates that Nero leaves the thing alone, get as far away as possible…

But then again, Nero has always been the curious type, not to mention a rebel. So he steels himself, mentally preparing himself for the second time. He breathes through his nose, before reaching out and placing Devil Bringer on the base of the statue, closing his eyes to concentrate better.

_**Calm yourself, young one**_**.**

Nero just ends up twitching this time, though he doesn't pull his hand away. How does he speak to this thing, this voice? Does he need to speak aloud, or-

_**Worry not. Words meant for us, we will hear. To speak with your tongue is unneeded, as your thoughts will suffice**_**.**

Huh. Cool. So Nero wonders just what the hell this freaky looking statue is – Nero's not gonna lie, the craftsmanship is superb, but _it really is freaky, okay_ – doing here, seemingly waiting for him.

_**A conflict of great proportions is near. Demon blood will spill. We, as the Tradesmen of Hell, appear to you with a proposal. We shall grant you boons, in exchange for the items you call Red Orbs. We are named the Divinity Statues, we are the Tradesmen of Hell, and we offer you our services**_**.**

So those Red Orb things _are_ important! Nero wastes no time in directing another though at the Divinity Statue, because he gets stuff in exchange for the Red Orbs? Like hell (oh, pun) is he gonna pass up on that chance.

But Nero has to say that the 'conflict' portion is troubling…

_**You've amassed quite a bit. We shall take it, and in return we give you your boons**_**.**

The statues glows golden, the light from the hourglass it's carrying is pouring out and gathering at the base to form _something_. Nero takes a step back, looking on in fascination, and the light soon solidifies into a treasure chest, white and gold and _inviting_.

So Nero doesn't hesitate to pop open the lid. His eyes widen at the sight of Vital Stars – two of the small ones, and a single medium – because _while_ they're similar to the ones the Order issues to their Knights, they're also different. More sinister looking, definitely. But then again, they're items made from Hell, so that's probably to be expected.

(Okay but _why_ does the Order have Vital Stars too, and looking _extremely_ similar to the Hell-made ones…?)

Nero turns to the last item in the chest, a curious golden orb.

_**For simplicity's sake, they are Gold Orbs. They shall revive a warrior on the brink of death once contact is made**_**.**

_Hell yeah?!_

Hell yeah!

Nero gleefully grabs the 'boons', Devil Bringer absorbing them for safe-keeping. The Vital Stars are nice and all but the _real_ bad-boy of this little gift box is the Gold Orb thing. A revive is useful, _very_ useful, and Nero knows he's going to need all the advantages he could get his hands on, to go after that man in red and cut down the demons in his way.

The assassin isn't going to get away from him the next time.

Nero glances at the other statue, before eyeing the Divinity. Nero hums for a moment, before nodding to himself and approaching the other one. It's just now that Nero realizes that the statue doesn't have actual legs, rather the lower half of their body is snake-like, complete with the winding coils and the interlocking scales.

Now who is this one…?

Nero touches the shield with Devil Bringer-

_**Hail, warrior! We are Servants of Ares, and we are here to challenge you!**_

Nero pulls his hand back, rubbing at his ears from the phantom shouting. Jeez, this one has no volume control. Nero puts his hand back with a disgruntled huff, wondering about this 'challenge'.

_**Show us your power, your prowess in battle, and we too, shall give you a boon! We are named the Combat Adjudicators, the Combatants from Hell; defeat us, and the reward is yours!**_

Well then.

It didn't take long for Nero to break the so called 'Combatant from Hell', and his reward is that blue fragment thing. According to the Divinity Statue, the Blue Orbs (four of the fragments can create one whole) increases his vitality, allowing for more endurance and energy to combat demons.

Cool.

Nero was just about to leave, finally satisfied with his 'earnings', when the doors on the lower area opened-

"The hell you doing here hag?" Nero leans over the railing, staring at Novena with utter shock.

The older Knight is dressed not in her usual attire, but instead wearing the men's version of the uniform. Novena looks uncomfortable, no doubt worried about her range of movement, and while her skirts is sometimes too short to be modest, Nero knows it also allows her the greatest range of movement so he can't give her too much judgment.

Fashion choices aside, Nero can't smell blood on her, so that means she probably got her hands on some Vital Stars and chugged those down.

Good.

While not a perfect solution, the Vital Stars would do a good job of getting Novena out of the danger zone as well as get her back to fighting condition. And outside the safety of the city or other Order strongholds, everyone who steps foot outside needs to be in fighting condition.

Novena grins up at him, smug. "I did say I'll catch up to you."

So she did. Nero watches Novena climb the ladder – that he never noticed – to reach the second floor, and something strange happened.

Her eyes simply passed over the Divinity Statue, as nothing remained of the Combat Adjudicator.

"You sure you good to fight? I'd hate it when your joints start to ache, you know." Nero says, watching closely if Novena pays the slightest bit of attention to the weird thing _practically in front of her_.

"Slow down on the grandmother jokes Nero." Novena chuckles, shaking her head as she turns away and heads for the door leading out of the mining hub. "Mission first, then annoy me all you like later."

Nero follows the elder's lead, and he casts a surreptitious glance at the Divinity Statue, whose surface just gleams prettily. So Novena can't see it…? So why could _Nero_? Is it because of his non-human status? Because if that's the case, it makes sense…

Better make sure he's alone when accessing Divinity Statues and Combat Adjudicators, then.

Nero turns back to Novena, who is fussing with the trailing ends of her coat. Nero rolls his right sleeve down – Novena shouldn't see his arm – before jogging to catch up. Without saying anything, Nero grabs Novena's short sword, gaining a yelp of alarm from the older woman, and the he just cuts off the ends of her coat, reducing the length to something closer to Novena's usual preferred 'dress'.

Nero (gleefully) tosses the cut of excess away, casually handing the weapon back to the gaping older Knight. So what if he enjoyed defacing Order property? No one has to know, right?

Right.

"While I don't approve of your methods, I can't get mad at you," Novena sighs in defeat, shaking her head and smoothing down her clothes, twisting and lifting her legs to check for movement. She seems satisfied, with the way she nods to herself after a moment. "Nero, why are you like this?"

Nero just snickers under his breath, climbing the stairs and going out into the excavation site. There are wooden houses spread out, temporary structures to house the miners as well as act as storage for whatever they were mining here. Nero doesn't care much for local news – aside from anything demon related, of course – so he has no clue what valuables could be mined from Ferrum Hills. Probably the metals for their swords.

The duo travels through the massive area, heading for the entrance leading to the mining tunnels, but Nero has to stop, throwing a hand out and herding himself and Novena into the shadow of an empty house upon seeing the _thing_ atop one of the hills.

"What is it?" Novena hisses in alarm, instinctively switching to a whisper and putting a hand over her Caliburn's hilt. "Nero?"

Wordlessly, Nero points at what he saw. It seems to be a monument, shaped like a stone tablet and sized up to a thousand times. From this distance, there are ornate etchings on the surface, and they look foreboding to Nero.

And as if some sort of higher being is eavesdropping on Nero's thoughts, the stone tablet shudders and jerks, as if alive. _Something_ appears in the middle of it, cracks that glow like molten metal, and it spreads and spreads, until it forms an opening big enough for five elephants to come through.

"The Hell Gate…!" Novena whispers in alarm, and Nero has to stare at her in shock.

A Hell Gate?!

That's bad news.

Before any of them could say anything more, a ground shaking roar rends the air, before _something_ bursts out of the Hell Gate in an explosion of hellfire. The thing, a _demon_, leaps high into the air, landing in the middle of the excavation site. It throws its head back with a triumphant roar, and massive wings of fire surges out from him.

Nero turns, holding Novena close to himself and letting his coat take the brunt of the flames as the fire washes over the two of them. Nero grimaces when the heat licks uncomfortably at his skin, but thankfully that's the worst of it. Nero and Novena – who is looking at the demon with murder in her eyes – pat down the flames still clinging to Nero's coat, and once that done, Nero whispers to the older Knight.

"I'll take the thing head on, and you go around from the back." He murmurs lowly, a plan formulating in his mind. While Nero and Novena normally don't work together, they _did_ train together for years, before becoming fully fledged Knights. It wouldn't take long for their bodies to remember working together. "You still got some of your effects?"

"As much holy water I could carry and more vials for my Caliburn." Novena replies, just as lowly, peering over Nero's shoulder to watch the demon pace through the houses, muttering something to itself. "You ready?"

"Let's go." Nero moves into the open, and Novena disappears into the shadows, manoeuvring and taking advantage of the distraction Nero is providing. Nero casually walks into the path of the demon, and it _ignores him_, continuing to mutter to itself, like some senile grandpa. Something about being a while since the thing came to the human world?

Well at least it still hasn't noticed Nero's… well. Non-human-ness. Ah, damn. With Novena here he can't use his ace in the hole… Tsk, better keep it close to his chest, manage the fight without it. Besides, Novena is no pushover, and Nero _has_ been fighting for years already, without Devil Bringer back then.

He can pull through.

"You know," Nero begins, pulling attention to him as Novena creeps from behind the demon, easily climbing up one house like a cat and hiding there, waiting for the right moment. "You really ought to not set off fires in a mining place."

The demon sneers, flaming maw stretched over fangs made of burning brimstone. "Insolent little pest… 2,000 years ago no human would act in such way, until now…"

Nero makes a face, gesturing casually with Red Queen. "Wanna make it another 2,000?" Ooh, that's gonna piss him off.

"_SILENCE_!" The demon roars, and it brings its massive sword down upon him. Nero smirks and flicks Red Queen up, the tip catching the pointed end of the demon's sword. Nero sees Red Queen's tip glow bright red, but he's not too worried. After all, his darling is made to take and dole out punishment. A bit of heat won't do any lasting harm.

Nero shoves against the demon, making the thing stagger back and glower at him with literally flaming eyes. "Futile pest, I shall show you the wrath! Of Beri- _GAH!_"

Nero bursts out laughing, having seen Novena creep up to the demon as close as she could dare. Nero had seen the holy water she flung in the demon's face, and now the demon is snarling and spitting, the blessed water corroding the parts where it splashed across his face.

"I'll show you what a pest actually _is_, demon," Novena drawls, and Nero has to shake his head and roll his eyes. Trust Novena to dramatic as hell. Her and her zealous self. "Prepare to die."

Novena is forced to jump away to safety though, when the demon (Beri? Berry?) swipes a massive hand at her in blind fury, roaring and causing a ruckus. While the demon Berry flails a bit more, Novena had rushed back towards him, with that glint in her eye when she's in a hunt present.

"I don't remember telling you to attack his ass from nowhere." Nero drawls at her as she rushes past, aiming to disappear once more.

"I don't remember making a finalized plan either." Novena retorts, and before Nero could reply, she's back in hiding, lost behind the wooden houses and leaving Nero with the furious demon all by his lonesome. Thanks Novena, best team work ever. A hundred percent would do again. Nice.

"_PEST! INSECTS BENEATH MY FEET_!" Berry howls, making Nero's ears ring from his sheer volume. "I will slay you where you stand, worthless humans!"

Berry throws his head back with a roar, and the wave of fire the pours off of him is far stronger, far more potent than the first one. This fresh wave is _massive_, nearly bright white in its intensity and heat. Nero curses, diving off to the side for the relative safety of the building. He crouches and pulls up the hem of his coat over himself, and he winces as fire licked at his skin, scorching it.

Seeing the small tongues of fire stubbornly clinging to his coat – thank the research department for their clothes _somewhat_ proofed against elements – Nero is quick to drop and roll, snuffing out the fire as he gets back to his feet.

Shit.

A quick look around assures Nero that the place _probably_ wouldn't survive… Nah, no, the place _really_ wouldn't survive. At the rate the demon is going, they're going to leave this place _totalled_. Nero has to wonder how he will report this to Credo, that he, while _not_ the cause, is involved in the destruction of an important Fortuna economy contributor. Not something he looks forward to.

Maybe he can leave that to Novena? After all, she's also here for this incident, and she's way better with making reports than him. Nero could just bribe her with a few lunch and a promise to help her on some missions.

When this is all over, of course.

"Nero!" The white haired Knight looks up in alarm, hearing Novena call his name but unable to locate her by sight. Ah, where was she? Unlike Nero, Novena is unfortunately far more delicate, severely handicapped by her human limitations. "Nero, are you okay?!"

"I should be asking _you_ that!" Nero returns, pulling out Blue Rose and moving out into the open, taking aim with Blue Rose and unleashing a hail of bullets on the demon.

Berry, unfortunately for them, wasn't too affected by the bullets, so the demon just stands there, taking what Blue Rose could dole out. It laughs, loud and mocking, and that just pisses Nero off, who puts Blue Rose back in its holster and drawing Red Queen this time. Nero charges forward, with a quick swing coming in from the left.

Berry merely hops back, deceptively light on his feet despite his sheer bulk. The demon retaliates by bringing its massive sword down on him, and Nero is forced to dodge, roll to the side instead of blocking the blow.

While Novena gets tunnel vision when she really gets going – like, right now – and she's liable to not pay attention to her fellows aside from their location… Nero still can't risk going all out, sneak in a Devil Buster. Nero can get away with a few shows of other strength though, but he has to be quick about it, can't let Novena known he can do _more_.

While Order members get a few genetic modifications… they _shouldn't_ get physical capabilities the same as Nero's. Actually, _no one_ should get his physical capabilities, because he's not entirely human.

Nero's attention snaps back to Berry, when the demon begins to advance on him, fire blazing, and suddenly he clenches a fist, fire gathering there. The demon pushes it into the ground, and it accordingly rumbles, the ground roiling beneath Nero's feet. For a moment, nothing happens, nothing changes, but all of the sudden, Nero sees the ground heat up from beneath him, and he grimaces.

Aw, heck.

Pillars of flame blaze from the ground, bright and stark against the shadows cast by the surrounding walls and cliffs. Nero dodges them, grimacing when he feels the flames lick at his heels, and he picks up the pace, bending low and pumping his legs. The ground shakes as pillars, one after the other, chase him like a bloodhound on a scent. Troublesome, and very much dangerous, even with Nero's nonhuman capabilities.

Off to the farthest side of the excavation site, he sees Novena dodging as well, cartwheeling and darting away from the fire pillars chasing her. She had shed her outer coat, leaving her in that skin tight sleeveless she prefers for maximum mobility, and Nero could see the scorch marks on her arms. She's clutching at her stomach, and that could only mean she's injured more than those burns. Damn it.

Berry laughs in glee, no doubt entertained by their plight. "Feel the might of the ruler of Fire Hell!" Berry crows in triumph, the flames on his back flaring strongly, as if to prove his point. The ridiculous amount of fire is making the whole place feel like an oven, and Nero grimaces as sweat begins to trickle down the sides of his face and neck.

The pillars die down, thankfully, and Nero doesn't hesitate to stop and rev Red Queen's Exceed system to the maximum. He lets go, the blaze of his sword's engines helping him streak towards Berry rapidly. He manages to take the demon off-guard, and Nero is able to land a couple solid hits, even scoring a sizeable crack on the demon's rock-like body.

Berry roars, rearing back on his hind legs and dropping suddenly, intent on crushing Nero beneath his bulk.

Nero pulls back immediately, leaping out of the way, and he draws Blue Rose to fire bullets at the demon as he repositions somewhere else. Berry brings an arm up to stop the bullets from reach his face, and the demon snarls in fury. Berry makes a move to retaliate, but he hisses, whirling around when Novena appears out of nowhere, slamming a glass orb full of holy water against his side.

"The pest has bite…!" Berry remarks, almost surprised, and he suddenly jumps straight into the air, body twisting, and his flaming tail sweeping across the ground.

Nero's heart lurches to his throat when he thought Novena got caught in the attack, and he can't help but let out a gusty sigh of relief when he sees Novena get out of range, sprinting towards him before Berry could recover fully.

Nero easily catches her, letting her whirl around before pulling her in, killing her momentum and easily setting her on her own feet. Novena pants through her exertion, and Nero subtly increases his own breathing as well, to make it seem he's just as tired as she is.

"Holy water doesn't have much effect," Novena begins, sheathing her short sword and refilling the vial of holy water in her Caliburn. "If it wasn't blessed water, the flames would've evaporated all of them. As it is, only half reaches the demon, and it doesn't last long. Just gives him harsh rashes, if anything."

Nero winces, rolling his shoulders. "Then we gotta make do with what we have. We come at him at different directions, keep the pressure on." He says. With that fire and that demonic strength, they're at a huge disadvantage. "There's gotta be a way to weaken his fire…"

"Take these," Novena says quickly, handing three of the holy water orbs she has on her. "Those are half of what I have left, so we ought to make it count. At the very least, we can use these as distraction…"

Nero pockets them carefully, making sure they're in easy reaching distance. "Thanks. Now," Nero nods at Berry, who is advancing at them at a languorous pace, a clear indication that he's not threatened by them, even allowing time to recuperate. The asshole. "You go left, I go right?"

"Sure." And with that, Novena sets out in a dead sprint, going low and both hands on her Caliburn for a stronger attack. Nero doesn't allow himself to lag behind, matching Novena's speed with his own, and he revs Red Queen as he goes.

They cross each other, right in front of Berry and thus forcing him to pick one to concentrate on. Nero slides in from the right, Red Queen's blade bright red, and Novena matches him, her own sword dripping with holy water.

Berry, however, wasn't so nice, leaping back and easily clearing several metres to regroup and dodge their attacks.

The two hunters doesn't cease up on their assault, though, and when Nero sees the older Knight reach out with a hand, he knows what she's planning to do. He switches Red Queen to his right hand in flash, and grabs Novena's outstretched hand with his own. He spins, whirling Novena around, before releasing her, sending her flying right at Berry at breakneck speed.

Nero runs after the older Knight, putting on more speed to catch up.

Berry looks quickly between them, before letting loose a fearsome roar and swinging his massive sword at Novena. It was a _massive_ thanks to Novena's flexibility and agility that she managed to dodge the sword, by laying her own Caliburn across the demon's sword and _pushing_ against it, practically shoving herself away from the blade's path with perfect timing.

Novena twists in mid-air and launching another holy water at the demon's face, this time the glass shattering against Berry's nose and splashing holy water across his face. The demon roars in pain, flinching backwards, and Nero sees Novena land on the demon's head unsteadily, balancing herself with difficulty while the demon flails.

Nero sees her manage to stab her Caliburn into Berry's eye-

"NOV!" Nero yells, skidding to a stop when the demon wraps a flaming fist around Novena. The older Knight _screams_, writhing and flailing as the demon squeezes, tightening and tightening its grip until Novena goes taut from pressure and breathless from pain. Nero's gut churns and his heart _leaps_ to his throat-

_No, no, no, no, no, not Novena, she's just human, she __**won't SURVIVE**_-

"You…" The demon gives Novena one last look, before squeezing his hand one last time. The sound of bones breaking feels like daggers to Nero's ears, and he couldn't stop the helpless scream of anguish ripping itself from his throat. "Should _rest_."

The demon opens its hand, tipping it carelessly and dropping Novena on the ground.

She doesn't move. _She doesn't move._

Nero sees _red_, and he charges forward with a roar of fury. Devil Bringer is unleashed, and the phantom limb, grown to ten times its size, latches around the demon's torso. Nero ignores the shared pain, ignores the flames eating away at his phantom limb, and he heaves, he _pulls_, and he tosses away the demon away from him.

Nero pants in exertion, the demon hitting the side of the cliff with an almighty crash and bringing debris and rocks crashing down on its damnable form. It's not a prison, hardly would stop the demon, really, but it could buy him precious time.

Nero turns, running for the unmoving body. He skids to a stop next to it, and he falls to his knees, hands fluttering helplessly over Novena's broken form.

_Please, please, please, please tell me she's not __**dead**__-_

Nero carefully presses an ear to the older Knights chest, tries not to flinch from the blood dripping from her nose and mouth-

… _thu-thump_…

Nero leans away, the backs of his eyes burning, but he tamps it down, tamps everything else down in favour of getting the Golden Orb out, getting the Golden Orb to stop Novena from _dying_. She's alive, but barely, he doesn't have much time, he needs to hurry or Novena's heart will _stop_-

The Golden Orb sinks into Novena's chest, and the sight of her _breathing_ made relief flood Nero's whole being, made him sag against her stomach, feeling her blood _rush_ and her heart pump with _life_.

_Shit_.

"N-Ner…" Her eyes are unfocused, and she interrupts herself by coughing up blood, body shuddering from the force of it. Nero shushes her, gathering the smaller Knight in his arms and quickly leaping away, taking advantage of her disorientation to use his full power to make things easier. "Wha…"

"It's fine, it's fine. You should rest." Nero says quietly, ears pricking at the sound of the demon escaping the rubble, now back on its feet and _pissed_. "You got pretty banged up there, Nov."

Novena mumbles something incoherent, before her eyes roll to the back of her head and she falls limp, unconscious. Probably for the better; her body, though strong and had gone through the necessary medications required from Knights, is still human.

Abhorrently weak, _fragile_ human.

Nero sets her down, away from the fight, and he rises, grabbing the last of Novena's holy waters and strapping her short sword to his waist as he goes. "You know, I was holding back so she wouldn't see my arm. My _sin_," Nero begins quietly, addressing the demon with deceptive calm. "She doesn't like it, you know. And she definitely wouldn't like it when me, her _darling_ little brother… is one of the scum she hunts oh so religiously."

The demon's eyes – well, eye now, because the one Novena stabbed has yet to heal – widen at the sight of Nero's Devil Bringer, it's _decidedly_ non-human form.

"You…!" It points its sword at Nero, face twisting up. "You are not human!"

Nero bares his teeth. "And you should've wished I was _actually _one!"

Nero charges, superhuman abilities easily carrying him across the field and he pulls out Blue Rose with Devil Bringer, pumping the revolver full of demonic energy and aiming it at the demon's face. He pulls the trigger, and his smirk is full of teeth when the demon underestimated the power of his charged shot, the demon wailing when his face exploded with corrosive demonic energy.

Nero draws close, pulling Red Queen free and executing a high roller, tearing up the demon's legs and torso as he climbs higher and higher. He twists at the apex of his momentum, pointing Blue Rose at the demon once more and setting off another charged shot.

Recoil sent Nero flying backward, and just in time, the demon's hand swiping the space where he was previously.

Any minute now-

Nero's charged shots has a rather _magnificent_ delayed effect, one that causes an explosion far greater than the first one. The demon wails from the first explosion, face getting torn up and warped from the sheer force. And upon the second explosion, the demon sags, severely weakened.

And _free_ from fire.

Nero easily locates Novena's Caliburn, and he picks up the smaller sword on the way to the demon, strapping it beside Red Queen. Just to make things fair, Novena's weapons will help him kill the burning bastard, one way or another.

Nero leaps high, and the phantom limb makes an appearance once more. "You're going to _regret_ what you did!" Nero snarls, and he grabs the demon by the face, _heaving_ the asshole up into the air before _dunking_ him into the ground, the ground shattering and cratering beneath the impact.

Nero's not done yet.

He rushes close, stabs Red Queen into the softer, much more vulnerable demon flesh, and he _splits_ it open, relishing in the demon's pained wail as its chest is torn open. Nero hastily dumps _all_ of the holy water orbs into the crevice, and he pushes the flesh together, watching it stitch itself back together.

"Now for the _encore_…!" Nero steps back, and he grabs the demon with the phantom limb once more, upper-cutting the bastard to send him into the air. Nero rears his arm back once more, and lands a solid punch on the demon, sending it _flying_ towards anther cliff.

Nero's brings Blue Rose back up again, Devil Bringer filling it with demonic energy, and he can't help but grin when he aims at the demon's chest.

The demon's chest that is filled with orbs of _holy water_.

"Go back to _Hell_." He fires the shot, and he watches in satisfaction as the demon's chest _explodes_ with holy energy, ripping through his unholy flesh, eating away at its own tainted energy. The demon, brutalized and _mauled_, could only slump against the side of the cliffs, surrounded by rock and rubble and magma-like blood gushing strongly from the massive _hole_ in its chest.

Nero stalks forward, drawing Novena's Caliburn with his left hand. Unlike Red Queen, it's far slimmer, shorter and lighter; not as able to take punishment as Nero's own darling blade. But Nero was given freedom to fiddle with Novena's Caliburn, equip it with a small engine that spreads holy water along the blade instead of explosive accelerant. It's still a nasty one, against the right targets. A venomous snake, instead of a prowling tiger.

The white haired Knight steps up to the demon's pathetic form, carefully climbing its side to reach its humanoid part. With a scoff, Nero shoves it facedown into the ground with the phantom limb, revealing broken spines and cracked, weak flesh.

"This is for Nov, you shit-face." Nero hisses, and he draws the short sword as well, Novena's second weapon, stabbing both swords _deep_ into the demon's back. It howls, but could only buck and flail weakly. Nero moves to the back of its neck, revving Red Queen deliberately. Making sure the demon knows what's going to happen next. "And this is for _everything_ else."

Engine powered out to the maximum and the demon reduced to something so pitiful, it was almost obscenely _easy_ to swing Red Queen and lop off the massive head from the demon's shoulders. Nero watches the head roll on the ground, dripping that magma-like blood, before the body starts to dissipate, starts to disappear.

The white haired Knight drops to the ground with a grunt, and he turns when he hears the clatter of Novena's weapons falling to the ground. He walks over to them, picking them up with a small grin on his face. He pats the Caliburn, stowing the swords away for safe-keeping. "Nov really ought to name you guys. You took down your first big baddie from Hell!"

He makes his way back to Novena, intent on returning to the unconscious Knight when a ball of light flew at him from nowhere, spinning around him once before seeping into his Devil Bringer like it belongs there. Nero can't help but stare, wondering what the hell just happened, before he decided that he exhausted his mental faculties enough for the meantime and he'll just leave that be for now.

"Things are getting weirder and weirder…"

Ah. What a day.


	6. angel egg

**[NOVENA]**

Wakefulness comes to Novena slowly, but the pain wasn't as lazy, wasn't as slow to come to her.

She groans, the back of her head pounding, her body _aching_, and her nerves alight like someone set each one on _fire_… She groans some more, just because she could, and she tries to feel out just where she is, because the last thing she remembers is getting trapped in the demon's grasp…

Novena manages to get her eyes to open, and she is met with blue eyes, watching her from behind messy white hair.

Nero.

"Wakey, wakey, old lady." Nero drawls, smirking down at her, and Novena can't help but chuckle weakly, shifting where she is. She turns her head slowly, eyes roving and taking in their situation at a snail's pace.

They're… they should be in the mines right now, with the carved out rock walls, the wooden support beams, and the lanterns here and there. The tunnels are large, thankfully, so they would have ample space to use their swords, if needed be. And they would most likely use it; the mines weren't free from demons, even before this whole mess.

She and Nero are on the ground, tucked away in one of the many alcoves scattered throughout the networks. Novena is wrapped in Nero's coat – as hers was ruined in the fight with the demon, burnt away to a crisp – and there are bandages wrapped around her chest, no doubt to keep it from being jarred further and risk injury. Novena herself is lying on Nero's legs, Nero graciously pillowing her from the ground. A true gentleman.

Novena carefully pushes herself up, and the younger Knight lets her, even helping her a bit with his hands on her shoulders. "Slow down there," Nero mutters, and Novena just notices the tired quality to his voice, his own scratches and burn marks. "You got _really_ banged up back there."

She can't help but wince internally.

She faints like a _damsel_ in need of saving, needing _others_ to do her job for her. She's supposed to be a Knight, one of their best. She's Nero's _elder_, even, ranked just a little higher than him! She didn't train for years, practically for almost a decade now, only to _collapse_ in a fight with a filthy demon-

"Ow!" Novena is snapped out of thoughts, and she gives Nero – who had flicked a finger against her forehead, _hard_ – the most offended look she could muster. She rubs at the aching spot – _ow_, that _hurts_ – before her other hand snaps out in a flash to smack the side of Nero's left arm. "That hurt, you brat!"

"I could hear the cogs in your head turning, you old timer," Nero returns, mocking. "_'Oh no! I fainted! I'm so weak and fragile and a whole ass grandma'_\- GAH! What in the hell, you violence loving old-timer?!" Nero holds a hand to the side of his head, looking offended and betrayed when Novena pulled on his ear earlier. "What are you, five?!"

"I'll show you five, you thumb-sucking _baby_-"

So two adults, fully-fledged Knights, dissolve into a petty 'fight', smacking and swatting at each other like children until Novena falls back down against Nero's leg, laughing so hard she's gone silent. The other Knight is grinning as well, a small thing, but Nero relaxes all the same, adjusting the wheezing Novena until she's not crushing his legs anymore.

They stay like that for a little while longer, quiet but lacking the oppressive undertone, and it was easy to imagine. Easy to imagine their younger days, back when Novena and Nero were still Knights-to-be. They would head to Caerula Beach every rest day they get, and Kyrie would already be waiting for them, a blanket and picnic prepared. The three of them would either just lie down and enjoy the sea air, or run around the shoreline, either playing or hunting for shells.

Far easier times.

Novena reluctantly leaves the nostalgic memory behind, sighing quietly and sitting up far easier this time, no longer needing Nero's help to do so. "We need to get a move on," Novena says, adjusting the coat and pushing her arms through the sleeves. If Nero's coat reaches just a little past his knees, it brushes her _ankles_ when she's wearing it, the sleeves stopping below her elbow even folded up as they are. Novena snorts and fastens the first two clasps, making sure it doesn't fall off her slimmer frame. "Fortuna Castle is just on the other end of the mines."

"You sure you're good to move?" Nero asks, the first one to get up to his feet. Novena watches him adjust the harness around his shoulders, grabbing Red Queen and strapping the gorgeous blade to his back. "How's your chest feeling?"

Novena presses a hand to the bottom of her ribs, applying slight pressure there. When nothing happened she moves her hand to the side, repeating the process and thankfully getting the same results. She breathes deep, letting her lungs expand. She has to stop after a moment, wincing when it finally twinges. Okay, so the damage now is more internal than external, which presents its own set of problems. At least she doesn't seem to have broken anything – lucky for her? – nor sustained any major injuries.

"I'll be fine, thankfully-" Novena cuts herself off, staring horrified at Nero's right arm.

His right arm that is wrapped up in those thick bandages, hand encased in an equally thick glove. His arm is wrapped, from the tops of his biceps to the tips of his fingers. Novena has only seen those once before, when Nero used it to hide his mauled flesh, his broken arm.

Novena didn't expect to see it again. Not this soon, at least.

Nero notices her looking at it, and he makes an annoyed noise, grabbing Novena's jaw and forcefully making her look away. "Didn't your mom teach you it's rude to stare?" He drawls, letting her go, and Novena rubs at her aching jaw, glaring at the younger Knight from the corner of her eyes.

But he does have a point, and Novena carefully keeps her eyes away from Nero, granting his unspoken request. "And didn't your mom teach you it's rude to mock people's moms?" While rude, Novena and Nero had grown close enough they could poke fun as their shared status as orphans. After all, what's a bit of ribbing between best friends?

"Touché, touché," Nero snickers, dusting the back of his pants before reaching over and grabbing Novena's weapons, handing them to Novena who takes them gladly, a smile on her face. "By the way, you really ought to name your swords. It's disrespectful to them." Nero pipes up, as they collect everything and begin to traverse the mine network.

Novena gives him a puzzled look, securing her Caliburn and short sword to their usual places. "What?"

"I used them to kill that son of a bitch, you know," Nero explains, voice echoing slightly in the small space. Their boots thudded and scraped against the ground as they walked, a background noise. "Along with Red Queen, yeah, but you can't just call them… _Caliburn_ and _short sword_ forever."

Novena shakes her head, laughing under her breath. She sees Nero pause as they reach the intersection, looking to their left with something akin to suspicion in his eyes. She takes a peek in the same direction, but sees nothing, so she shrugs and turns away. Nero has always had the better senses between the two of them, so he probably just heard something suspicious.

"Alright then, O Great Weapon Master…" Novena drawls, only to trail off and gape at the _broken_ remains of what seems to be a hub for the mines. "Okay, _what_ happened here?"

The usual cackling of demons answer Novena, and before she could even react and draw her Caliburn, Nero has stepped up beside her, his so called Blue Rose out and shooting the demons in their heads, easily killing them. Novena gives Nero a side-glance, and the younger just shrugs.

"You save your energy for now, and leave the heavy lifting to me." He says, and Novena opens her mouth to protest, only to snap it close when Nero uses the muzzle of his gun to push her jaw shut. _Wow, rude_. "I ain't budging on this; it's either I leave your wrinkly ass down here, or you save your energy for the climbing and the descent towards Fortuna Castle."

Novena wrinkles her nose at the younger Knight, pushing the gun away with a finger. "I'll let you win this one." She replies, acquiescing to the logic of Nero's orders. It chafes at her, sure, the inability to kill demons herself, but she _did_ just come out from a brutal fight severely injured.

Thinking about it, how did they _survive_? And how is Novena mostly healed already?

She should ask Nero, but since he's not offering up anything himself, maybe it wasn't… too bad? Maybe she did just get knocked out – well, worse than 'get knocked out', to be honest, but who's counting – and Nero managed to clean up everything all by himself. He _is_ their best Knight, especially in terms of fighting prowess. Personality and abrasive behaviour notwithstanding, of course. Nero never needed to be _polite_ just to kill demons, no.

"… Because I modified one of them, which makes it just as mine, as much as it's yours?" The unspoken 'duh' was clear in his voice, and Novena reigns in the petty urge to shake off the dirt in her boots right at the younger Knight's face. Nero continues, plowing onwards. "I was thinking of 'Brutus' for your Caliburn, and 'Cassius' for the other."

He really isn't going to budge on the issue, huh?

"Okay but why _those_ names."

"They took down a king. You know, since that Berry guy or whatever is a king of Hell or whatever-"

"Julius Caesar _isn't_ a king, Nero, he's a _senator_-"

"Who _cares_, either way the joke is still applicable. I even made sure they stab the bastard in the back-"

Novena can't help but stop and let out a wild laugh at that, having to stop climbing and press her forehead against the metal of the ladder to steady. Nero makes a displeased noise from beneath her, batting at her foot grumpily to force her to start moving again. Novena does so, but she's still cackling, still wheezing from the sheer _hilarity_ of what Nero did.

"You did _what_-"

There's definitely an unrepentant grin on Nero's face, judging from his voice. "You heard me," He says, smug and oh so satisfied with himself. "Stuck 'em in his back, like how those senators of Julius Caesar's did to him."

Novena almost _falls_ from the ladder due to the sheer force of her amusement, hadn't Nero smacked her in the shins to get her moving again. The finish their ascent – and Novena has to secretly admit that Nero's right in pushing her to conserve her strength – and Nero quickly dispatches the demons that spawned in what seems to be a central hub, clearing the area as swiftly as possible.

Novena seeks out the Order cache she knows is hidden in the area, and she sighs in relief when she finds supplies.

"Here," Novena says, taking off Nero's coat and handing it back to him, before hastily putting on a fresh uniform she found in the cache. It's not her usual uniform, but then again, she's one of the two female Knights, and while she's regularly issued out to patrols and hunts, she's yet to be assigned a long-term mission. Novena smoothed down the white material over her body, sighing. She hopes she doesn't have to switch out for a new one soon. "We should go, Fortuna Castle is just outside."

Novena rises, splitting the holy water and Vital Stars between her and Nero, and the duo takes their leave putting the mines behind them. Nero still handles the demons, eviscerating them with either Red Queen or Blue Rose, and soon enough, a path is cleared and they take it.

It leads them outside, Lamina Peaks startlingly close from here, as Ferrum Hills is connected to the mountain range.

And in front of them, almost hidden from sight by the flurry of snow, is Fortuna Castle.

The two of them huddle closer into their coats, their hair whipping about in the cold wind. The thing about Lamina Peaks – and a little bit of Fortuna Castle – is that since it's so high up, the snow and cold can be expected 24/7, all year round. It's a bit of an oddity, yes, but then again demons constantly spawn in the islands, so it only made sense for Fortuna's weather patterns, climate, and even geographical features get whacky at times.

And it may not look like it, but Fortuna is actually chilly all year round, even during summers and springs. The island's low temperature can be attributed to the natural demonic energy seeping from the very land, from what Novena remembers of her lessons. There's a reason why Fortunian fashion favours full-body coverage as well as multiple layers, after all.

But anyway.

With Nero in the lead, they trek down towards the bridge leading to the main castle of Fortuna Castle. Novena looks to the side, where the other bridge is – that one leads directly into the castle's interior grounds – and she has to wince when she realizes the reason why Nero's taking them the longer route.

The other bridge is ruined and broken, on the verge of collapse.

"Why is the other bridge like that?!" Novena calls out over the roar of the wind, clinging to Nero's coattails as they trekked.

"A couple months ago! Three Blitzes were having a showdown!" Nero replies, and Novena has to wince. She's never seen a Blitz before, but she's heard stories. Juggernauts with the power of lightning in them; they're absolute beasts that could potentially take two, maybe three squads, before it could be killed.

Soon enough, thankfully, the duo reaches the bottom, and they move towards the second bridge-

"Dodge!" Nero's roared command doesn't escape Novena's ears, and she responds instinctively, rolling backwards and pushing off the ground. She looks up at the sound of ice shattering, and her eyes widened at the sight of Frosts.

Two of them, and each are aiming for one hunter. One demon for one Knight.

Novena clicks her tongue, and she warily draws her short swo- _Cassius_. She draws Cassius, because she's not sure she can safely handle Brutus right now.

The Frost targeting her lets out a soft hiss, tail swishing through the cold air, and its claws of ice glints in the light. Dangerous, poised to kill.

Novena tosses a holy orb at the demon in a blink of an eye, and the Frost lets out a shrill shriek, getting a full frontal assault of the blessed water, and Novena sees it eat away at the demon's condemned flesh. She's forced to dodge to the side, though, when the Frost pressed on the offensive despite its injuries, leaping for her with its claws ready to tear.

Novena rolls to her feet and she ducks when the Frost flings a spear of ice towards her, the demon once more advancing on her with a furious snarl. Novena takes a careful step to the side, and extends Cassius, smiling in a feral way when the short sword slices across the Frost's stomach. It shrieks in pain, staggering, and Novena doesn't hesitate to climb up its legs, then up to its wide shoulders.

She stabs down at the base of its neck, and the Frost _wails_.

Before Novena could twist her weapon and decapitate the demon, the Frost's tail wraps around her torso and tosses her away. Novena lets out a breathless gasp when she hits the ground, absently thinking that if not for the thick layer of snow, she might've broken something again.

The Frost pounces on her-

_BANG_!

The demon is shot out of the air, and the demon's corpse drops just beside a stricken Novena, the female Knight's breathing a little too fast to be good. She stays there, lying in the snow, until Nero comes over and hauls her up.

"You good, grandma?" Nero asks, half-serious, half-jesting, and despite the terror, Novena manages a scoff, shoving at Nero halfheartedly and dusting herself free from snow. Her teeth chatters and she can't feel her fingers beneath her gloves.

Ah, it's _really_ cold.

Just because Fortuna is perpetually freezing, it doesn't mean that _everyone_ is used to below zero temperatures, especially when they're so ill-dressed for it. And aside from the larger Order coat Novena is wearing, her bodysuit doesn't help much in the heating department.

Novena sneezes, quite loudly, because _it really is cold_.

"Thanks for the save, brat," Novena says with a muted sniffle, and with the demons defeated, they're free to proceed without problem, the two of them crossing the massive bridge in silence.

They just about reached the door when the sound of a Scarecrow's laugh reaches their ears, and Nero whips around, pulling Blue Rose out, and Novena pulling Cassius free once more. The bridge is empty though, so when the laughter – sprinkled with shrieking now – sounds once more they look up-

"Oh, Saviour save me…" Novena mutters, sheathing Cassius and covering her face.

"Wait, what?" Novena could feel Nero looking at her in confusion, eyes bouncing between her and…

And Executive Gloria.

Executive Gloria, who is currently sailing through the air, with her legs wrapped around a Scarecrow, free falling from one of the Castle's tallest spires, with her arms spread out like wings and her head thrown back, as if in ecstasy. Behind her, more of the Scarecrows jumped after the exotic Executive, so one could say it's literally raining demons.

Novena opens her fingers, peering through the gap with horrified amusement as Executive Gloria lands, slamming the Scarecrow face down. The other demons surround her, but the Executive remains unfazed, still seated in her newly acquired 'chair'. It was criminally easy to imagine the sultry smirk on Novena's superior, and Novena could only sigh in exasperation at her squad leader.

Nero makes a move to join the impending fight, but Novena reaches out and puts a hand on his arm, making the younger Knight turn to her with a scowl. "What?"

Novena merely nods in her leader's direction who… who's begun to 'dance' with the demons. "Just watch."

And watch the both of them did; the exotic woman doing flips, splits and dips as she fights the multitude of demons with contemptuous ease. Watching as an outsider, it _was_ obvious that Novena and Executive Gloria really do have similar combat styles, with their preference for dance-like movements. Difference was, Novena's version is sharp and precise; all conserved movements and dagger-sharp offense. The Executive's version is far more showy and sultry; putting on a sensual show that could _kill_. Literally.

Soon enough all the demons are killed, one of them dying by Nero's bullet when it tried to sneak up on the Executive's back. Gloria turns to them with slow, sensual movements, a coy smirk playing on her lips.

That is, until she spots Novena standing to Nero's left.

"Novena!" She gasps out, practically _running_ to the dumbfounded Knight.

Novena stands there in stricken surprise, as her leader, the exotic Gloria, practically _smother _Novena to herself, a gloved hand cradling Novena's head and the other wrapped around Novena's wider shoulders. Novena exchanges startled looks with Nero over Gloria's head, and the other Knight just blinks back at her, equally bamboozled.

'_What is she doing?_' Nero mouths, waving Blue Rose at them from behind the Executive.

'_I don't know!_' Novena mouths back. She's about to say more but her squad leader had pulled back, cupping Novena's face and tilting it this way and that. Most likely inspecting Novena for injuries. Unfortunately for Gloria… most of Novena's injuries are almost done healing, if not outright gone by now.

"I heard from one of the Knights assigned to the town that you were alone in the business district when the demons came," Gloria says, worry clear in her voice. "We found nothing, so we thought you'd perished."

Huh. How about that?

Novena shakes her head, subtly basking in the motherly affection her squad leader is giving her. "Nero saved me," Novena says, nodding to the said Knight and pulling Gloria's attention in the process. "If it wasn't for him, well…"

Executive Gloria finally pulls away from Novena, regarding Nero with a grateful look. "I owe you thanks," Gloria purrs, her usual habit of, ahem, flirting with the others back now that she's calm and composed. "I couldn't imagine if I lost my darling little girl."

Novena rolls her eyes in fond exasperation, watching Nero flounder with a _little_ too much amusement. Oops.

"Well, uh, no problem?" Nero clears his throat, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he reorders his thoughts. "Anyway, what the deal with all these demons popping outta the wood work? And why _now_?"

Sensible questions. "We also came across an active _Hell Gate_, on the way here," Novena informs Gloria, whose frosty eyes widen in alarm before narrowing sharply. "A demon came out of it, probably a _Devil_, really, but we managed to kill it."

That seems to surprise Gloria once more. "I… I see. We'll report it to the Supreme Commander when we get back." Gloria says, nodding decisively. She turns back to Nero, addressing his question this time. "As for your question… It's still unclear for the sudden surge of demon activity across the island, and if there is a Hell Gate that is corporeal… There might be others scattered throughout, acting as gateways for the demons to come through."

The Executive twirls her knife in her finger, lips pursed as she saunters around them, thinking deeply. "There's too much questions, and not enough answers," She says in the end, and Novena shares a grimace with Nero. The situation is _really_ that dire. Executive Gloria looks over at them, slipping her weapon into the sheath inside her boot. "The only thing we can do is drive the demons back, until the Supreme Commander manages a permanent solution to the demon infestation."

"I'm afraid I'll have to leave the mass slayings to you lot," Nero says, giving Novena a pointed look. The older Knight merely nods, understanding Nero's own high-priority mission. "Commander sent me on a personal errand, you see."

Executive Gloria merely nods, slipping into a graceful curtsy. "Then may the Saviour be with you on your journey." Gloria turns to Novena, who straightens in reflex. "Come, Novena. I must take you back to Headquarters." And with that said, Gloria turns on her heel and saunters away, the tail of her suit swishing with the movement of her legs.

Novena turns to Nero, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Saviour be with you, Nero." She murmurs quietly, squeezing the younger Knight's shoulder. "Be safe, and come back to us."

Nero smirks at her, all boyish cockiness and confidence. He gives Novena a shoulder squeeze too, letting go as swiftly as he reached out for her. "You'll need your Saviour more than I do, hag." He retorts.

Novena scoffs, managing to roughly scrub at Nero's scalp to mess up his snow white locks. The younger Knight splutters and swerves out of her hand, and Novena chuckles, shaking her head. She nods at the Castle's massive door, leaving him a last bit of advice before they separate.

"The Gyro Blades are scattered throughout the Castle, but they're going to be inactive." She begins. Nero pays her his full attention, nodding. "The Anima Mercury should be hidden within the Library. You remember where it is?"

"Just outside the main Castle, in the right wing." Nero answers promptly, much to Novena's satisfaction. "So, Gyro Blades around, Anima Mercury in the Library. Anything else?"

Novena shakes her head. "Not that I know of." Novena looks up sharply when her name is called by Executive Gloria, who was waiting down the bridge, and Novena gives Nero one last smile. "I'll have to go. Let's see each other again, brat."

And before they could dissolve in one of their childish arguments, Novena turns and jogs up to Gloria, who is looking at Novena with a rather particular look on her face. The walk together, Gloria most likely leading them to the nearest shortcut that leads to Headquarters.

"So… That's Nero, hm?"

Novena blinks at her squad leader's sudden question, before smiling and nodding. "Yes! Former squad mate when I was back in the General's Unit, though we don't usually work together as he's a special operative." Novena explains. "He's also in my batch when I was still a Knight-to-be. Youngest one to join the ranks."

Gloria nods slowly, a slow smirk spreading on her lips. "You fancy him, then? You both have," She pauses for effect, because of course she would. "_Chemistry_."

Novena laughs derisively, scratching at her wrist. "Haha, no, it's not like that. He already has a sweetheart." Novena looks over her shoulder, seeing Nero disappearing into the Castle. "He's my little brother."

Gloria makes a humming noise, noncommittal and very vague, and they walk more in peaceful silence. It wasn't until they've reached the secret tunnels that Executive Gloria said something that made Novena absolutely ecstatic.

"Oh, the Supreme Commander has issued an order, so you're probably included in it as well," She says, punching the code into the panel and making the fake rock wall slide to the side to reveal the entrance. "He said that all Knights are invited to join the 'Last Supper'."

Novena can't help but grin, recognizing the code.

Finally, finally…

It's time for her to undergo the Ascension Ceremony.


	7. castle of ice pt1

**[NERO]**

Nero watches Novena leave, watching the older Knight catch up to the weird woman who practically shoved Novena into her, uh, ample chest. The other lady is probably Gloria, the mysterious new Executive Nero has never met (but heard bit and pieces from Novena) until now. The peacock-looking Executive certainly suits Novena's style of combat, Nero thinks, what with their tricks and flips.

Nero shakes his head, clearing it. He'll… think over things later. He has a hunt to pursue, and not enough time.

So he turns and heads into the Castle, pushing through the massive double doors that admits him into the Grand Hall.

Nero takes a moment to take in the massive place, removing the wrappings hiding his right arm as he did, eying the ceiling probably sixty, maybe even a hundred feet up. Chandeliers of gigantic proportions hang from it, casting dim lights all over the place, making the shadows seem deeper, alive in the way they _look_ to be moving. The dark bricks making up the walls and the floor and the ceiling, so bleak and dreary looking. The pews facing toward the front, towards the honestly ugly portrait of His Holiness (how they managed to commission a fifty plus foot portrait, Nero would never know), and Nero spots one of the Gyro Blades, currently inactive and just sitting there like an intimidating statue.

And speaking of statues…

Nero finds one of those Divinity Statues in the Grand Hall, just to his left when he's facing His Holiness's portrait. He jogs right over to it, a little excited to see what his collected Red Orbs could get him – he got quite a bit from the mines, and practically got the _lion's share_ of Red Orbs after killing that Berry guy – because while he _did_ find a Divinity Statue in Ferrum Hills, he wasn't able to use it, what with Novena being there. So with older Knight's presence limiting his privacy, Nero had to hold back and just collect the Red Orbs that spill from the felled demons, managing to amass quite an amount, ready to be spent on 'boons'.

He jogs up excitedly to the statue, and the pretty white surface practically gleams at him, tempting and inviting. He puts his Devil Bringer on the base, looking up at the statue as he waits for the voice.

_**Hail, young warrior. You have returned.**_

Nero shifts excitedly on his feet, almost nodding before remembering himself, that he needs only to direct his thoughts towards the statue and voila! Instant communication. Nero thinks about the fight about Berry, the statue he wasn't able to use back in the mines, the demons he killed in the mines and outside the castle, and finally, Novena's presence hindering him, as much as that statement leaves ash in his mouth.

_**An obstacle you encountered, but managed admirably… now. You say you've bested the Ruler of Fire Hell? Berial?**_

_Ooooh_, so demon dude's name is _Berial_, and not Berry.

In his defence, Novena had cut the demon off while said demon was talking. And there wasn't really much chance to talk afterwards, what with all of them fighting for their lives and generally running around the place, fire exploding everywhere, swords clashing and the demon healthily cussing them out.

Nero nods absently, vaguely remembering a light that entered his arm-

_**Ah. And you've gained his Devil Arm, to boot. Truly well done, young warrior. **_

Devil Arm? What's a Devil Arm?

_**Demonic weapon wrought from the very soul of a Devil. Their will, their desire, and their power… are condensed into a form that you can wield at your own discretion, once you've gained possession of their Devil Arm. And a powerful Devil Arm you have, rightfully earned by rite of conquest. **_

_**The power of Berial, the Firestarter, is now yours, young warrior. Go forth, and burn your enemies and their kingdoms into ash and dust. **_

Suddenly, memories, images and thoughts trickle into Nero's mind, the impressions of flames and ash and destruction leaving an imprint his mind. He realizes that the statue is giving him the knowledge to wield his new… _Devil Arm_, and he can't wait to try it out.

He can't help but grin widely this time, turning back to the Divinity Statue and thinking about the Red Orbs he collected.

_**We are named the Divinity Statues, we are the Tradesmen of Hell, and we offer you our services. You've amassed more Red Orbs than the first time, and thus your boon shall be more substantial. **_

The golden light pours forth from the hourglass, and Nero watches in anticipation as the treasure chest forms, a little bit bigger than the last time. When it's fully solid and corporeal, Nero doesn't waste time in popping it open, peering inside for his bounty.

Vital Stars, five of them this time, another Gold Orb - YES! – and oh, is this blue thing the Blue Orb? If Nero remembers right, they increase his life… or was it endurance-

"Hm?" Nero peers back into the chest, and sees a rather curious bowl filled with strange crystals, seemingly shattered but somehow keeping their spherical shape. He picks up one, and he lifts a brow at the demonic essence held within, harmless, more of a power source than anything else. Now, what is this…?

Nero touches the base of the Divinity Statue again, all the while still admiring the pretty gleam of object in his grasp.

_**Proud Souls. Pure essence that, when imbued with a wielder's weapons, grants increased power. Bear in mind, that non-demonic weapons, if infused with Proud Souls may display… unprecedented reactions. Such as mutation. **_

Nero grins.

Really now?

He puts the Proud Soul back in its bowl, along with the rest of it. He pulls Red Queen free from his back, looking at the statue pointedly, instructions clear in his mind.

_**As you wish.**_

The Divinity Statue takes the Proud Souls for itself, and the gold light pours into Red Queen this time, instead of coalescing into a treasure chest. Nero can't help but laugh in excitement as his sweetheart _snarls_ and bucks in his grip, the sword's surface _shifting _like its alive. The engines and exhaust sputter then roar, and Nero's can't help but laugh in glee when the resulting flames come out _stronger_.

_Hell yeah. _

"This is gonna be fun…!" Nero whispers to himself, returning Red Queen to her place. He could feel it, Red Queen's new latent power. While he himself could upgrade and modify her even more… Nero can't deny that the boost is going to make his life easier. Especially now what with all that's going on.

Nero spares a quick nod in the Divinity Statue's direction – the statue just glittering in response – before moving back to the centre of the Grand Hall, hands on his hips as he takes the place in, much more thoroughly and much more clinically.

He missed it at the first look, but the magical barriers are up and running; blue light emanating from the grooves on the walls and floors, made to stop demons from passing through. And with Nero being… what he is, he knows his path isn't as clear cut any more. He'll have to take the long way around, probably even circle the entire castle, at this rate.

Unlike Novena, who regularly makes a pilgrimage to the Castle every two weeks for reasons she never shared with Nero, the white haired Knight has only ever been to Fortuna Castle once or twice, when he was still a Knight-to-be, in fact, making it years ago. Still, he has a _vague_ idea of where the prominent places of the castle are, so if he wanders the place carefully…

Nero turns on his heel, entering the Large Hall via the Grand Hall's left hand door. From what he remembers, the Large Hall could lead outside to the Central Courtyard, which has a pathway that circles it, leading it back around to the sealed off right hand side of the castle, where the Library is. He has a quite a trip waiting for him; better start off as soon as possible.

Nero isn't surprised when demons greet him as soon as he walks through the dim hallways of the Large Hall, but he pays them not much mind; the quicker he kills the demons, the faster he can get to the Anima Mercury, and use the Gyro Blades for much more effective snooping. And if that man in red is in here… well. Let's see if he can fight murder statues, coming at him from all sides, at ridiculous speeds.

Nero makes quick work of the demons, proceeding down to the left side of it and eliminating any demons he comes across. He makes note of another Divinity Statue situated in an area, along with two inactive Gyro Blades positioned atop… _curious_ glowing pedestals. There are two out of four pedestals occupied, and they seem to be the keys for the barrier that's withholding access to the main area of the Central Courtyard….

Hmm, but _why_ is the Central Courtyard sealed…? Well, more reason to find the Anima Mercury.

Nero moves on, forgoing the Divinity Statue in the meantime – not enough Red Orbs and he sees another Gyro Blade at the end of the Large Hall, locked behind bars etched with strange runes. With that one inaccessible, Nero turns to the right, where a door at the end of it is located.

Nero steps through and-

"What the- a _torture chamber_?"

Nero gapes at the place; rusted cages hang from the ceiling, and the walls are stained with something Nero doesn't want to know. The floor is flooded, and it's thankfully dark enough that he can't see what the water is hiding. Nero doesn't _remember_ seeing this when he was a Knight-to-be, but then again, he and the others are mostly confined to the Grand Hall to attend private sermons from his Holiness. Or maybe this is a recent addition…?

… But who in their right mind would add a torture chamber to Fortuna Castle, though… I mean sure, castles have dungeons but no… outright torture chambers.

… Right?

The cackle of Scarecrows interrupt Nero's thoughts, and he snarls as he quickly lays waste to them, staining the water – why is there water in this place? Not to mention these decidedly _not empty cages_ – something nasty as the demons falls almost obscenely ease under Red Queen, the sword's new power quickly proving to be substantial. Once that's done, Nero doesn't bother with the stairs; he leaps, from the ground, then off the side of the wall, then using one of the cages as a springboard to reach the second 'floor', which… lacks an actual floor.

What the _hell_ happened here…?

No matter.

Nero climbs into the narrow hallway, jogging over to the door that thankfully leads him to the second floor of the Grand Hall. He walks over to the railings, reaching out with Devil Bringer. The blue light solidifies the moment Nero's demonic arm is just a few inches away, the barrier vibrating and humming with holy power, ready to fry and _hurt_ him.

Nero retracts his hand with pursed lips, before proceeding to his next destination. As he had guessed earlier, the barriers are keeping the left and right sides of the castle separate, so Nero doesn't bother the barrier again, instead going through the door. After giving His Holiness's portrait a disgusted look, of course.

The door leads to the pathway, out in the Central Courtyard, and Nero could immediately tell that there's something wrong here. _Very _wrong.

While it's true that Fortuna Castle – and other places on the island – get the weirdest weather due to demonic influence… There _shouldn't_ be a localized blizzard in the castle, with the epicentre being the courtyard.

Just _what_ is happening?

Nero cautiously walks down the pathway, a hand on Blue Rose, and when he leaves the safety of the entrance, he had to grimace. Leaning of the ornate railing, Nero tries to peer into the blizzard that is happening in and _only_ in the courtyard, a solid wall of violent snow. Nero considers it for a moment, the noise of a blizzard roaring in his ears, and he whips out Blue Rose. He fires off a bullet, into the blizzard, but nothing comes out.

Hmm…

A whistling in the air interrupts Nero's thoughts, and he tilts his head just so, just enough for the icicle to pass in front of his face harmlessly. Nero turns, glowering over at the couple of Frosts that had appeared, the two demons stalking over to him with their tails swishing and claws of ice poised to attack.

"Ugh." Nero loads up Blue Rose with a charged shot, whilst drawing Red Queen at the same time. One of the Frost snarls at him and pounces, and Nero meets it head on, lashing out with Red Queen and landing a deep slice across its face. It shrieks and falls back, stumbling, and Nero raises his revolver, pulling the trigger and watching with deep satisfaction as the Frost takes the bullets at full force and getting blasted back from the following explosion.

The other Frost leaps at Nero as its compatriot flies back, and its claws glow briefly before shooting icicles at Nero once more. The white haired Knight ducks, rolling away to dodge the Frost. The Frost turns sharply, trying to slam its tail down on him, only to shriek in surprise when Nero grabs said tail with Devil Bringer.

"Merry go round, _demon_!" He whirls the Frost in violent circles, over and over, and as a finale he chucks the Frost in his demonic grasp towards the other Frost, the two ice-type demons crashing into each other with the sound of icebergs colliding. Nero revs Red Queen in a split second, and he releases the throttle, streaking forward and letting his beloved – and currently flaming – sword cut through the demons like a knife cutting through butter.

The demons shriek and shatter into ice shards, Red Orbs spilling from their remains. Nero sighs and returns Red Queen to his back, bending down and letting Devil Bringer absorb the demonic currency for later use.

With no more ice lizards threatening to impede him, Nero proceeds to the end of the pathway, going through the door – there are a lot of doors here, for some reason – and entering the back section of the castle, facing the massive Foris Falls. The sound of the falls is a dull roar to his ears, and he remembers once, having snuck to the top of the dam with Novena – who was _very_ against him, she was only there because she was trying to stop him – and looking over the two sides of the island. Nero scoffs lightly in humour, going down the massive steps, grabbing the Vital Star floating prettily atop the spire, before climbing the other set of stone stairs.

Going through that is the other side of the pathway, bringing with it two more Frosts. Nero deals with those guys as quickly as possible – almost getting shish kebab by an ice spear for his efforts – and when he's done with them, he proceeds, going back into the castle but this time on the left side.

"Whew, that took a little while…" Nero mutters to himself, walking over to the raised platform where the generator is. He fiddles with it, taking a bit of time since he rarely ever works with these things, but soon enough the barriers are brought down, the blue light fading. Nero jogs over to the now accessible door that leads to the gallery, remembering that beyond the gallery is another area overlooking the cliffs of where Fortuna Castle is situated, as well as having the Library nearby.

The presence of demons in the gallery didn't surprise Nero one bit. He scowls when the Scarecrows try to swarm him, coming at him from all sides, but he merely revs Red Queen, the roar of her engines far stronger and feral after her boost. Nero turns sharply with a snarl, Red Queen extended, and he catches the demons on the blade, flinging them away violently.

They flew, scattering throughout the room, brutally slamming across various surfaces and walls and causing quite a bit of damage – Nero couldn't muster up the care to be sorry for that. Nero leaps, and he skewers two of the demons at the same time with great relish. He heaves, and cuts them from gut to head. He turns, drawing Blue Rose smoothly, and he shoots the Scarecrow that leapt for his back. It explodes, revealing the other Scarecrow, already swinging its bladed arm.

Nero jumped, summersaulting over it. He slams his boot against the back of the demon's head, followed quickly by Red Queen cleaning cutting into its burlap body. Nero lands on his feet, light as a cat, and he rolls his shoulders as he looks over the remaining demons. Four more. Ugh.

Nero snatches one up with his demon arm, and he sneers at it as it struggled and flailed uselessly in his demonic grasp. "Even your mother wouldn't love your face." He laughs to himself, before squeezing hard and slamming the Scarecrow down, making it burst like a grapefruit on the floor.

Ew.

Nero meets the rest of demons with Red Queen drawn, and it was over fairly quickly. He swipes Red Queen through the air once, flicking of demon viscera and blood off of its blade, before returning Red Queen to its place on his back. The red, web-like barriers shatter with a merry sound, and Nero gladly went through the new path, going through the door and ducking his head a bit when cold air nipped at his face and skin.

He takes a moment to just breathe and relax, walking over the railing and looking over the cliff. In his time traipsing through the honestly massive castle, night has fallen, and with it, the moon has risen. Nero could see in the dark better than others – who are _normal_ and _human_ – so he was granted the breath taking view of the mountainous region of Fortuna Islands. He breathes out, slow and deep, watching the cold turn it to mist.

"What I would give to take you guys up here…" Nero mutters to himself. As a special operative of the Order, Nero has the most freedom during his missions. Of course, he used this freedom to wander the island when he is able, and in his wanderings, he found a lot of places that would both be safe – or at least easily defensible between him, Novena and Credo – and enjoyable.

Fortuna Island, for all its harsh locale, abundance in demonic activities, and isolated state, still has its own beauty. Untamed, dangerous and just begging to be discovered.

… He's getting distracting from his mission.

Nero turns away front the magnificent view, making a mental note to remember this place, and the other ones where he can hopefully bring his… bring the others to. He's sure they'll appreciate the beauty – no matter how murderous it can be - of their country.

Nero walks over to the ornate door at the end, and he raises an eyebrow at the Divinity Statue near it, glittering and emitting its usual soft light. Okay… that's _three_ Divinity Statues in Fortuna Castle now. _Why_ are there three Divinity Statues here? Moreover, why are there Divinity Statues in Fortuna Castle _in the first place_? Do… do they spring up suddenly from the ground? Demonic hocus pocus?

'_If you poke around places, do a bit of sneaking, I think you'll find your answers.'_

Unbidden, the voice of the man in red surfaces in Nero's mind, and he shakes his head violently, growling to himself in frustration.

No, no, no, no. No time for doubt and hesitation. There's only Nero, his sword, and a man to cut down.

Nothing else.

Nero enters the Library, and he frowns at the… haphazard state of the Library. While he's not much of an avid reader of the Order Scriptures, he still knows that the Library is maintained, and maintained _well_. So for the whole place to end up like a tornado passed through it…

Nero walks into the room, Blue Rose out and in his hand. He's using it to poke and prod at the books, eyeing the upturned books, the torn pages, the heavy volumes scattered about. It's like someone came here and went through the Library in search of something. Either that, or someone was here, using it, and needed to leave hastily, leaving the place a whole mess…

… Maybe this is the reason for that peacock Executive's presence in the Castle…? She must be doing her own investigations too. But that Gloria woman didn't say anything… Hmm, where was the switch for the secret wall again? Is it the globe, or one of the candlesticks on the wall? Ah whatever, it doesn't answer the question of why Executive Gloria was in Fortuna Castle. Or why she didn't report any findings to him and Novena earlier.

"Probably more worried about the hag…" Nero mutters to himself, resting Blue Rose on his shoulder as he saunters over to one of the tables, surface filled with books opened and unopened. He thumbs through the one lying flat in the middle, and Nero recognizes the passages as the ones from Sparda's Covenant. Oddly enough though, some lines are heavily underlined, the black ink streaky and messy.

'_Blood of Sparda_', '_Holy War_', '_destined sacrifice_', '_of snow and ice blue_', yadda, yadda, yadda… What does this thing even teach? All Nero remembers from the sermons is that everything that threaten humans must be eliminated, that's it. He never really got the need for fancy words, the long and winded versions…

But then again, priests and their delusions and flair for the dramatics.

Nero looks over the books once more, finding them all related to the Order's religious texts, and he wrinkles his nose. Wait, priests…?

"Maybe the bastard went through here…?" Nero mutters to himself, bracing both hands on the table, looking down at the piles of books strewn everywhere. "Though, didn't figure for that guy to be a bookworm…"

The sudden presence behind him had Nero moving in a blink of an eye, raising Blue Rose and aiming at-

One of the Order members, already decked in full Angelo armour. Nero pauses, lifting his finger off the trigger as he lowers his gun. The Angelo Knight stands there, silent and still, its wing-like shield in its left hand and its heavy lance in the other.

Nero tilts his head. "That's one way to get yourself shot, buddy," He remarks lightly. The Angelo moves its helmeted head, and Nero moves his right arm behind himself, hiding it from view. He gives Blue Rose a twirl, heart beating in his throat as he picks up the book, pretending to read it. "So, tell me. Supreme Commander sent you here to try catch that guy too? Also, where were you guys when the demons invaded the city? We could've used the help-"

The whistling of the air alerted Nero to the lance headed for his head, and he turn, trapping the Angelo Knight's lance between the pages of the book. His arm locks as he holds back the weapon, and he grimaces down the length of it, at the Angelo Knight that silently just attacked him out of nowhere.

"So much for friendly banter!"

The Angelo Knight pulls its lance free, and Nero allows the book to be tossed from his hand, ducking under the armoured knight's wild swing – which hits the globe and shattering it, oops, not sorry – and moving to a much more open area of the Library.

He pulls Red Queen free, stabbing the ground with it as he revs his beloved sword to maximum. "You pickin' a fight? Then a fight you'll _get_."

As much as he loathes it, he needs to put this knight out of commission. Nero's Devil Bringer is seen, and Nero can't have that.

The Angelo Knight lunges for him, and Nero twists to the side, pulling Red Queen free as he does so. He pulls out Blue Rose once more, firing off a couple of shots at the armoured knight. As expected, the knight raises its shield, easily defending itself from Blue Rose's special bullets, and then the knight charges at Nero, going straight for him.

Nero jumps over its head, clearing it easily, and he throws out Devil Bringer, intending to pull the knight to himself for a good smack. He'll forever deny the yelp he lets out though, when it was _he_ that was pulled towards the Angelo. He manages to twist and land awkwardly on the Angelo Knight's shoulders, and it turns its horned helm up at him. Nero grins nervously.

"Uh, hi?" The white haired Knight says, before slamming down a fully revved Red Queen.

The sword and the Knight explodes, and Nero is thrown back from the resulting explosion himself, too close to the blast to remain unaffected. He manages to land on his feet through, skidding backwards in a crouch. He coughs out a bit of ash, grimacing, and he rises, waving a hand to clear the air.

"Uh, sorry about that, Red Queen doesn't really play nice-"

Nero's words are cut off, when the sight before him registers in his mind.

The Angelo Knight, is shattered to pieces, the armour broken beyond repair and some places scorched black. No one would be alive, if that's the result of their armour. No one would be alive, apparently, after receiving a powered up, fully revved Red Queen.

That is, assuming there's someone _inside_ the armour.

And the Angelo Armour before Nero, is _empty_.


	8. castle of ice pt2

**[NERO]**

Nero stares in horror and confusion.

What?

He makes his way over to the armour, the _empty_ armour, kneeling next to it. Nero picks up the helmet by its horns, turning it over in his hands and peering at its insides. He leans down, takes a whiff-

"Demon taint…" Nero mutters, watching the helmet _dissolve_ into light motes, along with the rest of the broken pieces of the armour. He continues to kneel there, chewing on his lip. "… What the hell just happened?"

The Library's silence seems almost mocking, and Nero dusts off his hands as he stands, clicking his tongue. "First His Holiness' murder, then that bastard's riddles, the whole damn castle…" Nero spins in place slowly, scowling at everything, eyes trying to pick apart something different from the place. "… And now a demon possessing the Order's armour... That's not a good sign."

'_If you poke around places, do a bit of sneaking, I think you'll find your answers.'_

Nero shakes his head sharply, cradling it in his hand as he hisses in annoyance. "Shut up, shut up, shut up…!" He mutters to himself.

No time for doubts, second guessing and lies fed to him by that man in red, by that _murderer. _There are times where Nero envies Novena for her absolute loyalty, her unquestioning faith, because at least then, she's spared the mental mess of self-doubt. Spared the words clawing and clawing at the back of your mind, destroying your confidence, destroying your faith in yourself. It's easy for her, as she's fine with putting her life in someone else's hands.

Nero can't do that.

Nero presses the heel of his palms over his eyes, groaning in misery. "This mess is just getting bigger and I'm not even done with this Saviour damned place!" He grumbles, exasperated and frustrated.

With one last grumble, Nero stalks off to circle the room, poking and prodding every nook and cranny he can reach and/or find the switch that would reveal the Anima Mercury, the annoying little thing. He finds the switch five minutes later, disguised as a book with the title 'Divina Comedia' – "Divine Comedy"? Weird name – and weird figures on the book's cover.

He pulls it, and the groaning of stone scraping across stone pulls his attention to the side, where a 'book case' disappears down the floor to reveal the hidden chamber, as well as the weird glowing pedestal holding the Anima Mercury.

Nero approaches it with the slightest scowl, swiping the ornate canister out of its resting place before finally taking his leave. He casts one last apprehensive look at the Library, wondering if he's missing something- if he _missed_ something. He shakes his head after a moment, leaving the Library entirely, in all its upturned state.

He passes the Divinity Statue – not enough Red Orbs yet, better save up for a bigger bonus later. Besides, he has a lot of stuff that's still unused – and enters the castle again, via the gallery. He's not surprised when demons fill the place back up, but Nero grins as he hops over bladed arms and legs, ducks beneath icicles sent his way as he makes his way over the inactive Gyro Blade.

The Devil Bringer spits out the Anima Mercury – since apparently his arm is a storage now, how convenient – and he pours a little bit of its 'flame' into the receptacle of the Gyro Blade.

It activates, with loud clicks and whirrs, the sound of metal sliding against metal, the gears within the statue moving and working and soon enough the Gyro Blade is active, floating a few inches above the floor – okay how does that work – and the blades are deployed and ready to kill demons.

Nero hastily gives it a couple of good whacks, making the rotors work and thus making the blades spin at a rather, eh, dangerous speed. Nero grins, before punching the Gyro Blade's side and making it rip through the room.

He leaps up to the chandeliers immediately, clinging to the ornate fixture as he watches the Gyro Blade literally tear the demons to pieces, sending demonic viscera splashing _everywhere_. Nasty, nasty business but it worked wonderfully; not only was it fun to watch, but it saved a lot of time as well. Really, _really_ convenient.

Nero now has to wonder why Gyro Blades aren't strategically placed around the castle town, because this thing would've made defending the place a whole lot easier. Not to mention it saves up on manpower, lowers casualty rate and all that.

Tsk, tsk.

Nero hops down just as the Gyro Blade slows to a stop, dripping wet from demon remains and whatever else splashed on it. Nero grins and pats it, like he would a dog, and he collects the Red Orbs, which is quite the amount, and when everything is done he leaves the gallery, returning to the Great Hall.

Now that the barriers are gone, Nero is free to hop over the rails and drop down to the ground floor, walking over to the Gyro Blade situated at the raised dais at the front. He casts a look around the place, finds the huge, glowing casket sitting there in the middle of the aisle and judging by the sigils on the side, it can only be destroyed by a Gyro Blade.

Speaking of, how did he miss the casket earlier?

At any rate, he pours a bit of that Anima Mercury into the Gyro Blade, activating it before he guides it along to where he wants it. Soon enough, the casket crumbles easily, and Nero leans over the odd… mechanism he finds hidden within the casket. Brass rings – or something like that, he's not too sure – set in a complicated, multi-layered configuration.

Nero pokes at it, and when nothing happened – the thing didn't react to the cocktail of demonic energies and artefacts floating around inside his arm – Nero knows he's missing something.

"The old hag didn't mention anything about this…" Nero murmurs to himself, scratching at his chin before narrowing his eyes. That's a little odd, considering Novena knows the Order buildings like the back of her hand. Not to mention, she knows and hears a lot of things because she's one of the favourite Knights - has His Holiness's approval, really, so she gets access to a lot of places normal Knights don't usually have access to. "… But if she knows about the Gyro Blades, but not about this… thing, then why…?"

Nero puts his hands on his hips, chewing on his lip as he thinks. As of now, this thing is inaccessible to him – at the moment, anyway – so he needs to find a way to start it up, find a way to the rest of the castle-

Wait. Wasn't the main doors to the central courtyard sealed off?

"Hmm, I got the Mercury, and have no damn clue about this one right now…" Nero tilts his head, before walking towards the door to the side, where it would take him to the main hallways. "Might as well check that one out then come back for this when I find something…"

So he does exactly that, slipping into the Large Hall's corridors. Demons are there – should he be surprised? Probably not – but Nero dodges them, grinning to himself as a plan formed in his mind. He jumps over their heads with ease, swinging from the chandeliers just because he could. He taunts them all the way to a certain area, the one with the pedestals and Gyro Blades. He activates one, giving it one good whack after activation, before sending it towards the demons.

He laughs in glee when the Scarecrows gets turned into bloody confetti, shaking his head at himself. "Aah, that was too fun." He walks over to the Gyro Blade, guiding it towards the other end of the corridor where he saw the caged Gyro Blade. Carefully positioning the Gyro Blade he has with him, Nero gives it a handful of hits, get the blades spinning until it blurs, before sending hurtling down the corridor.

Nero hears demon screech as they die – so there really were demons waiting for him there – and he jogs after the Gyro Blade, look at the walls and the sealed off room. It's… honestly amazing that the walls aren't too damaged – is gouged, yes, but not as deep as he expected – and the metal bars sealing off some rooms aren't even bent, let alone broken.

Okay, _what_ is Fortuna Castle?

Nero shakes his head, putting that thought out of his mind for the meantime. He continues with moving the Gyro Blade, down and down the hallway until he finally reached the end, where the caged Gyro Blade is. He destroys the barrier with the active Gyro Blade, watching the thing bounce against the inactive one. He walks up to the weapons, humming in his throat as he passed a hand across the surface of the inactive Gyro Blade, noting the lack of damage despite having been hit by the other one. Odd, really odd, and _clearly_, whatever material they made these things from, it's definitely not normal.

… Is he able to get some for himself, though? Something to think on later.

Anyway, he herds both Gyro Blades down the hallway, not even bothering to deal with the demons himself. He simply sends the weaponized statues streaking down the corridor, letting them do the dirty work while he takes a break from hacking and slashing.

Not that he's tired, but, sometimes, killing demons can get pretty tedious. Especially if it's the same damn weaklings over and over.

But anyway, he finally reached the right place, and he only spares the Divinity Statue for a moment before dragging the Gyro Blades to their proper places, the pedestals lighting up with a soft purple glow as the statues are put into position. One Gyro Blade left… He saw one, in one of the empty areas locked behind a metal gate, further down the opposite end of the hall.

Humming to himself, Nero runs down the Large Hall's corridors, sprinting because there's no one here and he wants to reach the place as soon as possible. In no time at all, he finds the locked away area, and on the other side of the metal bars, up on the dais, is the last remaining Gyro Blade. Nero raises his demonic arm, pulling it back briefly, before punching at the gate-

Only to stare in surprise when the metal bars just gave an almighty clang, and _remained unchanged_.

"What in the…?" Nero grabs at one bar with Devil Bringer, yanking it at with more and more force, without any results. "What in the hell?"

Okay so there's something really, _really_ freaky going on here and Nero _doesn't like it_. Not one bit. It's giving him a headache, and he that's something because Nero _never_ gets a headache.

Well, until now, apparently.

Nero, annoyed and frustrated, punches the metal bars of the deceptively flimsy-looking gate, giving it his most venomous look as he walks back down the hall, resigning himself to looking for another way in. Novena is going to answer his questions later, because he has a _lot_. Like what is that disc-like mechanism in the main area? Or what metal are the Gyro Blades made from? _What the hell is up with Fortuna Castle_? Those kind of questions.

Nero finds a door – which he somehow missed – after a few minutes of walking, grumbling to himself all the while. He opens the newly found door, stepping through to find himself in a dining room of sorts. He walks in, observes the table that is still laden with empty plates and cutlery, all gleaming silver. The candles have long since died, if the tiny wax stubs are any indication. Someone was here, but quickly left. Probably when the demons attacked earlier, most likely.

The white-haired Knight was about to leave the room via the other doorway, when the sound of wind chimes sounded behind him, followed closely by the vicious whirr of an engine-

Nero leaps, and the Angelo – most likely a possessed one – misses him. The massive lance was poised to kill, and Nero scowls as he twists in mid-air, whipping out Blue Rose and pulling the trigger.

The Angelo bears its shield forward, staggering just a little under Blue Rose's explosive bullet. After that, the demonic armour shifts its shield to its back, which spreads, fumes jetting out of it as the shield splits in half, forming the 'wings' of the now airborne Angelo.

Nero growls in frustration. "You got to be _shitting_ me." He snarls to himself, and he is forced to leap to the side, as the Angelo dives towards him, its lance pointed towards Nero. The white-haired Knight rolls to his feet, drawing Red Queen in one smooth motion, and he flips, dodging the lance that swung at his head by several inches. He twists, slices downward with his sword, and cleaves a deep gash on the Angelo's left arm, cracking it, revealing the glowing insides.

No flesh, though.

The Angelo didn't yell, didn't make a sound, but it staggers, clutching at its injury, and it clumsily swings its weapon to force Nero back, not that it worked. Nero loads up Blue Rose with a charged bullet, before darting forward, fast a snake, and into the Angelo's guard.

Red Queen pierces through the armour's chest, and Nero finds it _highly _disturbing when no blood comes out, no shout of pain. In fact, the Angelo just looks at the massive sword in its chest, before looking at Nero. The white-haired Knight grimaces, bringing up a fully charged Blue Rose and blasting its whole head off. The possessed armour dissipates before completely hitting the ground. Nero thought that's that, but another Angelo coalesces into being with the same wind chime-like sound, and he just scowls at it, revving Red Queen threateningly.

He deals with that Angelo as quickly as possible, though this one he skewers with its own lance, throttling the rev several times and sending it crashing into the table. And the two other walls behind it. Nero winces at the damages, but at this point, he thinks he can be forgiven for roughing up Fortuna Castle a little bit. After all, in a way, the castle attacked him _first_. He's just fighting out of self-defence, that's all.

He's not looking forward to filing the official reports to Credo.

At any rate, Nero proceeds to the branching hallways, turning to the right-

_FWOOM!_

He stops dead in his tracks when a gigantic _fireball_ – of all things – explodes, no dissipates against the wall, which is engraved with alien looking shapes and squiggles that didn't give Nero a lot of confidence. A far of boom sounds, and Nero risks a peek down this weird hallway, only to yelp and backpedal as fast as he could, just in time for another fireball to dissipate against the wall.

What. What in the _hell_ is this?

Seriously, who even made this bloody castle; a demon nest, a death trap, a puzzle that's a colossal pain in his _ass_-

"Novena is going to hear from me," Nero mutter darkly, marching over to Gyro Blade he just spotted. He activates it with probably more force than necessary, but considering his current predicament and feelings, he feels like he's justified. "Novena is going to hear _a lot_ from me."

Nero sends the Gyro Blade down the hall, punching it with as much force as he can muster, and he may or may not have grinned in satisfaction when it destroyed the magical generator at other end of the hallway, putting an end to the fireworks. Heh. Fireworks. Continuing, the door that's near the other end leads to the sealed off room he found earlier, and as soon as Nero steps into the room Scarecrows coalesce into being, greeting him with those creepy laugh of theirs.

Nero sidesteps the first attacker, smoothly slipping to the side and drawing Blue Rose. He pulls the trigger once, twice, and the Scarecrow explodes. The second set bullets hit the blade of another, throwing it off course and slicing through another demon unlucky enough to be on the path of the wild blade.

The white-haired Knight draws Red Queen as he leaps, skewering a laughing Scarecrow in the chest. He twists, roaring as he does so, and he revs the engine all the way up, streaking across the room, slicing through the rest with steel and flames. Nero skids to a stop, legs braced, and he lashes out with his own demonic arm, catching a Scarecrow on its wooden leg. He slams it down viciously and ruthlessly, making it pop like a fruit underneath the phantom limb.

He lets the frustration and agitation fuel his movements, all animalistic fury and feral grace, and soon enough, the Scarecrows crowding the room are gone, as well as the red web-like barriers that sprung up at the beginning of his fight earlier. Panting from exertion, Nero walks over to the generator, activating it to open the gate. That done, Nero proceeds to get the now free Gyro Blade to move where he wants it.

Again.

"I wanna have a nice, long _chat_ with the architect of this hellish castle," Nero mutters to himself, not bothering with the freshly spawned demons and just sending the whirling Gyro Blade speeding down the hallway like a top made from metal, swords, and murder. "I wanna know what the hell they were thinking. Or if they were thinking at all. I have _issues_ I wanna voice out. I have _questions_. A lot of them."

He's muttering to himself the whole way, until he finally guided the blasted Gyro Blade to the last remaining pedestal. The light intensifies for a moment, before the blue barrier shatters with a sound of glass breaking. It falls, disappearing, leaving the door to the central courtyard finally open.

Nero walks towards it, rolling his shoulders and shaking his hands out to loosen them for the upcoming fight. He holds a hand towards the door, only to turn sharply and lay a hand on the Divinity Statue instead, a frown on his lips.

_**Hail, young warrior. Do you seek to trade?**_

Nero thinks about his… new friend. Berial, was it?

_**Ah. You want to be shown the knowledge to wield the Firestarter once more. Very well, it shall be done.**_

Nero is much more prepared for the mental assault this time, and he bears it better this time, mind racing as he tried to keep up with the sheer speed. His hands and arms twitch with the motion, aborted movements of him doing the newly learned moves right then and there. The flood stops abruptly, just as suddenly as it began, and Nero steps away, blinking rapidly and just the slightest bit woozy.

He pats the base of the idol, grinning at it. "You're a handy guy to have around, huh? Thanks." The statue's surface gleams, and Nero turns, going through the doors of the central courtyard fully this time.

He is immediately assaulted by _snow_, and _cold,_ and_ what is happening_.

Nero brings a hand up to shield his face, squinting up at the sky. Or at least, what he thinks the direction of the sky is. There's a thick wall of ice and snow and frost forming a massive dome over the courtyard, blotting out the sky, and the spires of the castle are mere blurry figures. Nero clicks his tongue, feeling his skin crawl at the sheer _wrongness_ of the situation.

How did a simple hunt for a murderer become so complicated?

Feminine laughter suddenly rings in Nero's ears, and he whips around, Blue Rose in his hand and ready to fire.

He sees them, then, two ghostly… vaguely feminine figures _floating_ and _dancing_ in mid-air. Clearly demons of some sort. Most probably the source of this freak snowstorm. Novena mentioned an ice demon before, who also looks feminine, during one of the very rare overseas hunt she managed to join. Apsaras, was it? Or was it a, uh, Yokey Owner? Wait no, that's not the right pronunciation-

Ah. Yuki-onna. Snow woman.

These (presumed) Yuki-onna demons twist around each other like snakes, spinning in the air, and they suddenly turn to Nero, beckoning to him with twisted smiles and laughing voices.

Nero just twists his lips, charges Blue Rose to full power, and fires.

The blue demon women spin away with shocking speed and grace, and their bell-like laugh are manic now, floating towards Nero with clearly malicious intent. Nero draws Red Queen just as the first reaches him, its arm transforming into a rapier-like appendage, and the screech produced from the clash of Red Queen and the demon is _unholy_.

Nero twists to the side, lashing out, and the she-demon slips beneath his blow, its laugh mocking. Its sister follows up, aiming viper-quick jabs at Nero's head with the intent to kill him. Nero parries some and dodges the rest, trying to land a strike in with either Blue Rose or Red Queen. The (presumed) Yuki-onna merely keep up their own dodging game, but due to their numbers, they keep the pressure on Nero, forcing him back and keeping him on the defensive more often than not.

It's frustrating, and Nero finally snaps, his own snarl matching Red Queen's roar as flames burst from its engines. He whirls, the next strike catching both she-demons across their torso, making it split open and spill copious amounts of Red Orb. One of the (presumed) Yuki-onna falters, is far more dazed than the other, and Nero pounces on the chance, grabbing it with Devil Bringer and slamming it to the ground.

The two Yuki-onna suddenly slip away, disappearing, and Nero finally smells it before he sees it, making him turn towards the dark corner of the courtyard and seeing the massive row _teeth_-

Nero darts away, kicking up snow as he skids to a stop, lips pressed to a firm line as the _real demon_ shows itself. So it's not a Yuki-onna, after all. But rather…

"You're stronger than you look!" The demon… frog… _thing_ roars, like that fact pisses it off to no end.

"And you're smellier now that I can see you!" Nero shoots back, grimacing at the _stench_ and feeling the hairs on his arm and neck stand at the sight of this ugly beast of a _frog_. _Yuck_. "Ugh, I'm gonna hurl-"

"Watch your tongue, _boy!_" It roars, whipping around its antennae, where the two she-demons – which is, apparently, mere bait – are dangling from. Disgusting bile flies from its massive mouth, and Nero really, really feels like putting the contents of his stomach on the ground.

Like, right now.

"Oh, by the Savior that's so disgusting- _hrk_!" Nero _almost_ did throw up, but when the froggy-looking monster leaps at him with its smelly mouth open, Nero is forced to leap away, lest he become froggy-chow. He grimaces, already feeling a disgusted shiver lance down his spine. But either way, he pulls Red Queen free, revving it up for a charge.

"I'm filing for a psychological evaluation after this, and Novena is going to cover the expenses. Her and Credo." Nero mutters angrily to himself. "I deserve a damn recompense for all of this!"

He streaks towards the frog demon, his sword's boosted engines carrying farther than the usual, and Nero twists with the moment, cutting at the demon's slimy white hide with a vicious growl. The demon shrieks in pain, and it hops, plopping heavily onto its stomach a few paces away. It puffs up, throat swelling, and Nero was too slow to dodge the wave of ice that came pouring out of its mouth.

Nero feels himself become encased in ice, and he gasps, the ice _burning_ him, through him, inside him, and he can't feel his fingers, his toes, his face-

The ice shatters, and Nero stumbles to his knees, weakened by the sudden temperature drop, and he was struck by one of the demon's freaky antennae, and he feels something _snap_ somewhere in his ribs. Nero hits the steel gates, and he falls to the ground, hacking and coughing. He tries to breathe, and he ends up wheezing, his breath coming in wet and there's a taste of metal in his mouth. He spits, and he scowls at the blood now staining the white of the snow.

He staggers to his feet, and he glares at the frog demon happily croaking and gloating where its fat ass is sitting. He takes out a Vital Star, Devil Bringer summoning one from the depths of its… storage, and he chugs it down quickly, strawberry taste a relief to this honestly awful scenario.

"You're not so tough now, huh?!" And the frog dares to mock him.

Alright then.

Nero returns Red Queen to his back, and he rolls his shoulders, cracking his knuckles. "You asked for it…" Nero growls.

He thrusts his demonic hand out, like what his mind says, and he thinks of flames, of heat, of rage and fury that destroys all. His Devil Bringer glows bright red, losing its blue hue, and it goes up in a blaze, the fire collecting into his palm to form a rod roughly one and a half feet long.

He wraps his clawed fingers around it, the rough surface of the rod finding purchase within Nero's equally rough demonic hand. His grin is purely malicious, and he brandishes it sharply to the side. A _massive_ tongue of flame pours out of the rod, cracking against the air with a sharp sound. Nero swings his arm sharply again, and the whip made of _hellfire_ snaps with the motion, arcing in the air and bringing a bright, orange hue to the immediate vicinity.

At his mental command, the fire detracts, shortens, until all that is left is the rod in Nero's grasp. But despite its now innocent state, its power has left remains; the snow around Nero not only did melt, but the ground is dried, _scorched_. Nero grins evilly at the demon frog, who rightfully cowers and croaks in fear.

"You really _shouldn't_ have pissed me off, froggy." Nero says, almost casual and light-hearted. He shifts his grip on the rod, on _Berial the Firestarter_, his very first Devil Arm. The rush of power… _it was intoxicating_.

Apparently calling this frog demon thing a _frog_ is the wrong thing to say. "A frog? _A frog?!_" Bile flies everywhere once more, smelling up the place. Nero mentally apologizes to the poor people who will need to clean this up once all of this freak show is over and done. "I am Bael! Of the Toads of Cocytus! I will freeze your body, and send the shattered remains to the far corners of Hell!"

Nero jabs Berial forward, and the flame whip comes out, and the white-haired Knight pulls back at the last second, laughing when the whip cracks the air just in front of the _toad_ demon's nose, making the massive thing flinch from the sound and vicious heat. "Frogs, toads, I don't care." Nero declares, bringing the whip to the ground and watching in satisfaction when it burned for the briefest moment, removing more of the annoying snow. "I don't like you either way."

_Bael_ the _Toad of Cocytus_ roars in rage, and the icicles on its back fires up into the air, numerous chunks of it falling over Nero's head. He leaps backward, rolling to his knees just as the icicles bombarded the spot where he previously was, and he whips out Blue Rose, pulling the trigger a few times. Bael flinches, hopping to a different location this time. It roars, a wave of ice speeding across the ground at an alarming rate. Nero whips Berial, the end wrapping around a pillar, and he hauls himself out of there, twisting so he hits the pillar feet first, which he uses as a springboard, getting himself high up in the air, soaring over froggy- _toad _demon's head.

Berial is swapped out for Red Queen, and Nero triggers a maximum boost, flicking off the limiter and letting the kick of Red Queen's engines and flames carry him into a nigh violent downward spin. Bael _somehow_ manages to jump out of the way, bouncing high up in retaliation, obviously aiming to crush Nero under its bulk.

Nero clicks his tongue, and Berial reappears once more. Nero spins wildly, the whip causing a whirlwind of fire to form around him, climbing higher and higher until it hits Bael, who screamed in pain. The white-haired Knight dismisses his Devil Arm, instead jumping up and reaching out with Devil Bringer's phantom limb.

Nero wraps the ghostly appendage around the ice encased tail, and with a snarl of effort, slams the demon toad down, knocking it dizzy. It opens up the window for Nero to bring back Berial – he's getting the hang of summoning and unsummoning things with Devil Bringer – and wail on the vulnerable toad like a, well, like a demon possessed. Nero manages to land several flesh rending blows, blood gushing hot from the demon, before Bael twists suddenly, swiping at him with unexpected speed that catches Nero off guard.

Nero feels the wind get knocked out of his chest, pain blooming all over his body as he hits the ground, kicking up snow and dust. He twists, getting up on his feet only to falter and cough wetly. Blood dribbles down Nero's mouth and he grimaces.

For some reason, this fight is harder than Berial.

Bael jumps to the corner farthest from Nero, and the demon breathes deeply, bloating up to thrice its size before letting loose a dark, dark haze, blanketing the courtyard in almost suffocating dimness. The women-shaped baits comes back, and they're already going for the kill, intent on not leaving Nero any room to breathe.

He evades their blows, swerving and weaving, until he finds a window of opportunity. He draws Red Queen and Berial at the same time, and he whirls violently, both weapons aflame. The baits shriek shrilly, cut open at the torso and dropping Red Orbs all over their feet.

Nero doesn't waste time, grabbing onto one of the baits and hauling it backwards, pulling Bael back into the light. The demon flops, weakened and bleeding, and Nero collapses briefly on his knees, starting to feel the cold biting at his flesh, the fatigue weighing on his bones, his healing tiring him as it repaired his damaged body. Nero wheezes, before forcing himself to get back up on his feet, staggering, spitting blood to the side.

Berial manifests in his Devil Bringer once more, and the flaming whip makes a reappearance, melting the snow and turning it to steam as Nero paces around Bael, who seems like it wouldn't be getting up soon.

"You know, I don't like frogs. Or toads, whatever." Nero flexes his hand, before settling into a stance and flicking out a flaming whip. "I really, really don't like you."

Nero cracks the whip, wrapping around the base of Bael's tail, and with a yell, he yanks _hard_. He spins, round and round, ignoring the demon's terrified screaming. Nero whirls, once, twice, thrice, before hauling Bael up, getting it into the air, before slamming the full weight of the demon _into _the Hellgate.

The demon Bael wails, twitches, before falling still, now lying dead atop the rubble of the Hellgate. Nero collapses on his ass, breathing hard, panting and hurting from the particularly nasty fight. He grins to himself in satisfaction, pleased at the now destroyed Hellgate and the now dead frog thing.

"F… Finally done…" Nero mutters to himself, moving to lie down on the ground for a while. "Gotta… gotta get some breather…"

So Nero lies there on the scorched ground, Ice practically none-existent around his Devil Arm and the power he could wield. He absently muses if Novena has known about this, knows about the secrets, the trapdoor and the mazes. Considering her close standing to His Holiness, she probably does.

But before Nero could ponder more about Novena's involvement, or how the murderer could be possibly linked to all the questions he's having, the ground shakes.

Nero is up on his knees in just a second, looking around in alarm and fear when the ground breaks, _splits_, and it's originating from the Hellgate, black, spidery veins incoming, splitting the earth like it's nothing.

Nero tried to jump, tried to pull away. But it fails, moving too fast and too erratically. And Nero, weakened as he was…

Falls.


	9. fortuna the unfortunate

**[DANTE]**

Actually, no. Fortuna isn't a mess.

It's a colossal pain in the behind. And that's Dante being generous. Really, really generous. Very generous. The most. He is Dante the Benevolent when he says that.

This mess with Fortuna and this Order of Dad's Worshippers is so annoying it's not even amusing anymore.

After the mess in that Opera House, Dante is on the other side of the city a while – probably a few hours now – later, crouched on a rooftop and surveying the city crawling with demons. He hums low on his throat, a considering noise.

The gunshots beside him pauses, and Lady leans into his line of sight. She's frowning, though not in that way of hers where she looks like she's going to shoot you in the head. Dante figures that Lady's facial expressions got messed up somewhere down the line, since the walking gun factory smiles when there's things to blow up.

"Look, I'm sorry about not notifying you earlier about this, alright?" She says, reloading her guns all the while. "I was-"

"-Busy, and you had a lot on your plate, babe," Dante shoots her a quick smile, turning his eyes back towards the… thing. Sitting so innocently in the distance, a couple kilometres off the north-eastern coast of the city. A massive slab of rock with writings done in the tongue of the unholy. A relic of a past that will not be forgotten. "Don't worry about it."

"Well," Lady huffs, pushes her shades up her scarred nose and blasts some demon scum with Kalina Ann. "I'm still worried."

"Which is why we're here and trying to make sense of this mess, yeah? Besides, Trish is working to get us info from the inside." Without telling them of her plan, true, but Dante knows where her loyalties lie. And it's not with the Order. Will never be with anyone else. "Wonder how she's doing."

"Still don't like how she just handed over Sparda to them…" Lady mutters, but there's a look in her eye, speaking of her own worry for the other Huntress. Sure, Lady and Trish don't always see eye to eye, but they're thick as thieves in their own way. Every hunter in Devil May Cry has that relationship. "There must be another way."

"What's done is done, and so we wing things until we can make heads and tails of this mess. And that," Dante points at _The_ Hell Gate, standing up to plant his hands on his hips. "Should be our biggest concern right now. If that's what I think it is, then this job just escalated from 'Normal Tuesday' to a 'Special Saturday'."

Lady groans, dropping her head against the bazooka to thump it against the metal tube. "God, I hate Special Saturday jobs." She grumbles, rightfully put out and exasperated. After all, the last Special Saturday job they had, it was a rollercoaster from hell.

Literally. Dante still isn't sure why a whole theme park got possessed by a demon.

"Just think of the pay, babe."

Lady perks up immediately, grin cat-like and excited. Dante shakes his head fondly. "Good thinking, Dante." The smile then slides off of her pretty face, still so young and baby-faced despite all these years. She'd shoot him in the head for calling her baby-faced, Dante's sure. "So. What is that? Doesn't look very friendly, does it?"

"Because it's not," Dante agrees, holding out Ebony and Ivory for her to play with when she pats the side of his leg. "That, and I hope to whatever higher power is there that I'm wrong, is _The_ Hell Gate."

Lady pauses, stops firing down demons to blink up at Dante. "I hear the capitalization."

Dante breathes deeply, bringing a hand up to rub at his forehead, lips pressed together. He really, really dislikes it when humans mess around with demon stuff. He might even goes as far as saying he _hates_ it when they do that. Stupidly fragile, stupidly mortal, stupidly _human, _humans. Dante respects humans, he _truly does_, but it doesn't erase the fact that the majority of the human race are plain _dumb_.

It almost makes him cry at times, to be honest.

"You know how we recovered books, from the library of the tower? Back then?" Dante sees Lady's shoulders tense, and he honestly hates bringing up things related to Back Then, but she needs to know. She's been there for a long time, a steady presence all these years. "One of those talked about paths leading to Hell. Like Temen-ni-Gru. This thing we're looking at right now? Is just like the tower."

Lady scowls. Starts gunning down demons once more. "And it's sitting there, in the open…?"

"I don't like this, not one bit." Dante says. "We all know that Dad sealed off _all_ the pathways to Hell. Sources far and wide add up, supports the statement and making it fact. I don't like risks – at least, not with _this_ – but for now I think we can say that thing's currently in a dormant state. Needs something to start it up. Like a key-"

"Or a power source." Lady immediately picks up on Dante's train of thought, and he makes a noise of confirmation as he crosses his arms, staring at The Hell Gate with hopes of setting it on fire with just his spiteful thoughts and willpower alone. Sadly, laser eyes is not a gift Dante has. "The Devil Arms the Order is collecting, do you think this is the reason?"

"Highly likely, sad to say," Dante sighs. "Devil Arms are literally solidified souls of Devils-"

"-The highest possible rank a demon can have, and is worth legions upon legions of demonic energy." Lady sucks in a breath through her teeth, brows furrowed and her mismatched eyes narrowed behind her shades. "That's… Bad."

Dante nods slowly. "Very." He agrees.

"So what's the plan?" Lady gets up, handing back Dante's guns to him and patting off the dust from her shorts. Her ridiculously short shorts. "Am I right in expecting nothing will go easily?"

"Yep," Dante says, popping the 'p' as he says the words. "Like all sealed gates, it has a very specific lock that needs a very specific key. This one," Dante gestures to The Hell Gate. "Needs Yamato, if I remember the book correctly. Brother Dearest's beloved odachi. Arguably the prettiest sword in existence."

Rebellion grumbles in the back of his mind, and he runs a hand down the blade, like soothing a disgruntled cat. Rebellion subsides, and Dante promises carnage and demon blood later. Lots and lots of violence to sate both their primal sides.

Lady jerks, as if electrocuted- "Yamato, but wasn't-?!" She stops, chews on her lips with worry and unease. Sounding so, so angry, to hide her soft underbelly. "Wasn't it lost?"

"Back then, maybe." Dante ignores the hole in his chest, a pain so old it's a part of his being at this point. "But apparently…"

Lady looks at him, waiting for him to continue. "'Apparently'…?" She prompts, a foot tapping the ground now, a giveaway to her impatience and worry. Worry, worry, worry. Lady worries a lot, it's a miracle she hasn't developed some sort of severe case of anxiety or paranoia yet. Must be the guns. Or the constant blasting demons around with Kalina Ann. Maybe both.

Dante just points down to the ground with a finger. "Yamato? Somewhere in the island." He says simply.

And wasn't that funny? Yamato, lost to him for years, for _ages_. Then suddenly, it's here? In Fortuna? What a joke. What a horrible, horrible joke. What's next, fate is going to tell him Vergil is alive and well? Still looking uptight and snooty even when he got his assed kick seven ways to Sunday? If things were that easy, Dante wouldn't have this hole in his chest. Wouldn't have all these scars from all those years, festering and spreading since that day in the tower where Vergil fell.

But his tumultuous thoughts aside, Yamato's energy lingers steadily all over Fortuna Island; a rhythmic, continuous thrum that niggles at the back of Dante's mind and in his soul, a ghost that's there over his shoulder, invasive, hovering, and screaming in his ear without a voice.

It would be annoying if Dante doesn't care about Yamato or the odachi's owner one bit. But the thing is, Dante cares. Cares a lot.

So.

He needs to get Yamato back. Fast. And probably any other Vergil paraphernalia that's possibly still here in this God forsaken island. And that's probably one of Dante's most clever – not to mention most annoying – pun ever made. Points to him.

"We need to get it back," Lady says, voice grave and expressive even more so. Lady may have the biggest grudge against Vergil, but she knows the importance of Yamato, and the danger it poses when it's in the possession of someone else that isn't Dante. "Fast."

"I wish that was easy." Dante sighs, gesturing for Lady to follow him. She steps close him, shouldering Kalina Ann, and with careful movements, Dante sweeps her up, jumping across several roofs just to save time. He sets her down, and they peer at the northern edge of the city, leading into the massive mountain capped with snow. "Yamato's presence is…. Even, across all the island. There's no weak area, no strong area, just a flat, steady energy radiating all over the damn place."

"And so you can't pinpoint it."

"Nope. It's annoying as hell, to be honest." It's strange – and worrying – that Yamato's presence is all over the island; either it was transported all over the place, frequently enough that the whole place is blanketed by the energy it exudes , or Yamato has been here for such a long time that the very island itself absorbed Yamato's demonic energy, starting to replicate it, even.

If his theory is right – that Fortuna is not a human place but rather an island raised from the very depths of _Hell_ _itself_ – then the latter theory about Yamato could be the most likely answer to his question. And if his second theory is _also_ right, then the island's emulation of Yamato's demonic energy must be the reason this land is filled to bursting with demons, reason why there are corrupted humans. Someone knowledgeable in the demonic arts must've figured out that those energies can be harnessed as a renewable source, with the right method.

And looking at these elite guards of Fortuna, well. Seems like they have somebody who knew what they're doing, and knew what to do with this abundance of demonic energy being pumped out of the island itself.

"So what's the plan Dante?" Lady asks, palming a gun on her thigh, a habit she has when she needs something to do to calm down. "Grab a ranked member and shake some answers out of them?"

Dante sucks a breath in through his teeth, grimacing as he plants his hands on his hips again. "From what I've gathered, it's easier to bring back Dad then make these guys spill answers. Fanatics of the highest degree, the lot of them."

"… Worse than _that_ man?"

Dante hesitates, but in the end, he nods, biting his lip. Lady just makes a noise beside him, something like resignation in it. But Dante doesn't call her out on it. He's not cruel enough to claw open old wounds. "Well, there goes an easy job." Lady sighs.

"An easy job is made up of several demon spawning points, and just five bullets in the chamber." Dante reminds her with a rueful grin, the gesture returned to him with a smirk. "Oh, let's add in that… What was it, a Kali demon?"

"True enough," Lady laughs. "And yes. It was a Kali- _whoa_!"

Dante hears it coming, and he wastes no time in grabbing Lady, jumping far away onto the next rooftop, Dante doesn't let go, despite Lady's demands, and he turns to the attacker with narrowed eyes. Lady falls quiet upon realizing they're no longer alone, and she goes tense in his hold, hands moving erratically towards her guns. Dante squeezes her shoulder, a cautionary gesture, and Lady falls still, though she remains wound tight.

Above them, hovering in the air, are angelic looking beings, several handfuls of blue-tinted ones, and two golden ones.

Lady sucks in a breath beside his ear, one hand gripping Dante's coat tight. "These from the Order?"

"Mm," Dante carefully keeps himself between the new arrivals and Lady, so he can give Lady a bit of time to do her thing safely. "Probably. Hey! You guys from the Order?"

The two golden angels raise their swords – equally as white and golden as them, beautifully made with sweeping lines and elegant edges – before slicing the air with a downward motion. The other blues heft their massive lances higher, their wings flaring with a burst of smoke and sparks, and they fly towards the Hunter duo at breakneck speed, pointed tips aimed to kill.

"Showtime, babe!" Dante crows with a laugh, tossing Lady high into the air as he dives beneath the angels' lances. He hears Lady's gleeful affirmative, as well as the sound of a shotgun being cocked. He jumps once more, clearing himself from Lady's line of fire and drawing Rebellion just as she pulls the trigger, knocking some of the blue angels out of the air. "Time to party…!"

Some of the blue angels breaks off from the charge, lances aiming for the red-clad Hunter this time, and Dante jumps over the first one, shamelessly using its horned head as a stepping stone. He twirls, twisting out of another's lances path. With a sharp 'hah!' he jabs Rebellion forward, meeting a third lance with the flat of his sword's blade and he kicks at Rebellion's side, shoving the lance up and away so he could bring his other hand up, Ivory in his grip.

He pulls the trigger, a point blank headshot, and to his surprise, the angel – which isn't quite an angel, apparently – simply falls apart, revealing itself to be a very fancy armour. With _no one_ inside.

"Oh?" Dante, ducks down to avoid a swing, bringing Rebellion back absently to block a second blow. "Hey, Lady!"

"Yeah?!"

"These guys are just armour!" He calls out, flipping, running one angelic armour through with Rebellion and roundhouse kicking another with enough force to kick its head clear off. Now that it's proof these guys are just shells and not humans… well. No need to worry about letting loose, right?

Lady reloads Kalina Ann, swinging the massive thing and decapitating one of the armours. The head rolls off, revealing the gaping emptiness within and Dante can see her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline from where he is. "Oh, that's a surprise."

Dante whips out Ebony and Ivory, letting loose a storm of bullets before landing atop a roof with a boyish smirk. "No need to hold back then, babe." He says.

Lady's answering smirk is more demonic than his. "_Hell_ yeah!"

Dante clears himself of the blast zone, leaping high into the air and engaging the other airborne armours with a laugh, meeting them blow for blow with ease. Below him, Lady casts her arms out, a dozen grenades winking merrily before going off.

A large group of the blue angels are taken out in one go, and Dante finishes off the group he's playing with, done messing around with the small fry. He lands on the rooftop where Lady has swung herself to earlier, the two of them regarding the last two golden angels in a tense stare off. Dante leans closer to her, keeping his eyes on the two Order groupies. "You take the one on the left, I take the one on the right?"

Lady hums, considering, before she smirks and brings up Kalina Ann in a flash. "Nah." And with that she shoots the bayonet, taking one of them by surprise – and hitting it deep, too – before Lady pulls the switch and drags the thing towards her with a snarl. Dante darts forward, Rebellion in his grasp, and he delivers a stinger as he meets the angel halfway, putting enough force in his strike that he shatters the whole thing to pieces.

The bayonet retreats, relieved of its cargo, and Dante twists, getting down on one knee and cupping just in time for Lady to run up to him, stepping on his cupped hands and placing her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. "_Up_ you go!" He says, tossing the gun mistress high up into the air.

Lady laughs as she goes into the air, whipping out a shotgun as the golden angel flies towards her, sword raised at the ready. Using the shotgun's recoil, she dodges out of the way of the angel's heavy swing, twisting to bring the gun back around and blast the angel's helmet with it. It reels back, the helmet cracking open to reveal nothing inside it, and with a twist that wouldn't be possible for normal humans, Lady swings herself up to the angel, pulling out two grenades and flicking off the safety.

"Fire in the hole!" Lady exclaims, before shoving the grenades inside the helmet and jumping off with a corkscrew.

The angel explodes rather flashily, golden light accompanying the flames and smoke. Lady lands on the rooftop with a small 'oof', bending her knees to lessen the impact upon landing. Dante lets out a whistle, his face taking on an impressed expression.

"Gotta make them go out with a 'bang', huh?" He says, cheeky, and Lady scoffs, shaking her head in amusement.

"Haha, you're amusing. But you know what's not amusing?"

"The weirdly empty angel armours flying around with what looked sentience?"

"Yes."

Dante and Lady exchanged looks, and it's the red-clad Hunter who spoke. "You know, the longer we stay here, the more stupidity we find."

Lady sighs, adjusting her glasses and hitch Kalina Ann higher up her shoulder afterwards. "It's almost sad." She pauses, then amends. "_Worrying_ and sad."

Dante nods in agreement, raking his hair back with a hand before letting it flop back over to his face. "I just hope there's nothing worse than we already found. I came here to investigate, but here I am, poking at what's probably a hornet's nest with my own finger, not a stick." Dante huffs, put out. "I never got a stick to poke this damn hornet's nest in the first place, actually."

"You do know that by saying that, you're jinxing yourself?" Lady says dryly, a smirk playing on her lips as she leads both of them away, towards the direction of the northern end of the city, where the path to the mountain beings.

Dante, if he feels like it, could've given Lady his biggest pout. "Mean." He says instead, smiling cheerfully.

"I'm just saying," Lady chuckles, shaking her head. "Knowing your luck, this thing will likely balloon up to disproportionate levels-"

"Now you're just jinxing me more and that's not very nice-"

"Bold of you to assume I need to influence your already phenomenal misfortune-"

The two hunters bickered all the way as they left the ruins of the city, killing any straggling demons on their way. So wrapped up with their own problems, they never noticed the winged figure watching them from several rooftops away, green eyes glittering with something like poison.


	10. holy orders (be just or be dead)

**[NOVENA]**

With them cutting through Foris Falls to get to Mitis Forest, Novena and Executive Gloria managed to cut down their travel time by a considerable amount; a few hours, at least. And with the (relatively) warmer temperature and the absence of snow, the female duo are able to move through the forest faster.

Demons that tried to interrupt them are cut down with ease and viciousness, no time wasted for exhibitions and their other antics. After all, when the Supreme General calls, all Knights are to report as promptly as possible. General Credo, after all, dislikes tardiness, and accepts nothing but efficiency and their best. Novena has yet to disappoint the General – her failed corralling of Nero not included; that particular job is a lost cause and they all know it – and she wasn't about to start now.

Unfortunately for Novena…

"So, tell me about this Nero," Executive Gloria asks, her tone a little too innocent to be really, well. Innocent. "You seem close."

Novena doesn't rise to the baiting, shaking her head in fond exasperation. "We are close, yes. "Novena confirms, her inflection steady and unbothered. The faster her squad leader loses interest, the fast Novena can have her peace. "We were in the same batch, after all, and we started young. We've been friends for years."

Executive Gloria's smirk is wide and teasing, practically dripping with suggestiveness. "Just _friends_?"

Novena nods simply, her strides unbroken and steady. "Yes." She glances at the Executive from the corner of her eyes. "You seem oddly invested on my relation to Nero."

Gloria raises her hands in a placating manner, smiling widely and unabashedly. "I can't help but be curious, after all! I've heard rumours about the youngest Knight, and none of them are too flattering." She explains in an even, light tone. "I figure that by asking you, whom the others refer to as his 'older sister', could shed more light on the enigma that is Knight Nero."

Novena sighs, wanting to deny the claims of being Nero's sister. But honestly? She can't; the evidence are too much against her, and probably even Nero would insist on this, just to make her life harder. The brat. "I… well, yes. You can technically talk to Kyrie, but, oh why am I even trying to wiggle out of this…" Novena puts a hand to her forehead, before lowering it and resigning herself to her fate. "Well, then, where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning, of course." Executive Gloria replies simply, a smile on her face. "Who is Knight Nero, before the Order of the Sword?"

Ah, a relatively easy one to answer. "Like most children, Nero is an orphan. Same as me. The difference is, that no one knows who his parents were, or where he came from. From what I heard from the officers, Nero was found wrapped up in a blanket outside one of the orphanages in the outer district. No letters, no notes, nothing. Just him and the black blanket." Novena says, recalling one of the stories she heard from her younger years. "Compared to him, I'm luckier as His Holiness personally knew my parents, and that they worked for the Order of the Sword as well. That afforded me a much better accommodation and care when I was an infant, unlike Nero."

"Absolutely nothing about Knight Nero's origins?" Executive Gloria asks, gracefully leaping over a fallen tree just because she could. "No eye witnesses, no rumours?"

"Nothing. Nero's past before being found in the orphanage is a complete blank." Novena answers. "He… he hates it."

The exotic woman hums, her tone considering and almost absentminded. "How old is he?"

"18 years old. Closing on 19, really."

"18…? Hm, how curious…" Novena blinks at Executive Gloria, who waves a dismissive hand. "Don't mind, don't mind. Does anyone know where he inherited his… features? After all, show white hair isn't exactly a normal colour. Especially to a Fortunian. I know, because I'm not Fortunian either, as you can tell."

Novena nods in agreement. "I know. No one looks like you either, Executive." Novena confirms, before sobering and continuing in a much more serious tone. "As for Nero… the doctors said it to be some sort of albinism, a harmless defect in the skin pigmentation. And as for who Nero inherited it from, well… No one knows."

The two of them fall quiet for a while, traversing the forest they're so familiar with. As they've patrolled Mitis Forest frequently, it didn't take them too long to find one of the paths to the Order, though unfortunately, the Headquarters itself is still a ways off. No matter; there are shortcuts, and if they're lucky, the portals would be stable today. Get them closer to the Order's main building. But until then, Gloria and Novena will continue with their route, simple and straightforward barring any interferences.

Novena hopes nothing would interfere; she will be having her Ascension Ceremony soon, and damn her soul to an eternal suffering if she's late for it.

"Your Nero is quite the puzzle, is he?" Executive Gloria says suddenly, almost making Novena run into a tree from surprise. "Seems like a simple boy, but he is anything but, no?"

Novena sighs, walking around the tree carefully. "He… Yes, he is. But I wouldn't change it, no." Novena shakes her head. "He is very dear to me."

"Would that sentiment remain even if you find something ground-breaking about him?" The exotic woman asks, curious. "What if you find skeletons in his closet?"

"Then I won't judge him." Novena replies easily, readily. "After all, don't we all hide something?"

There's something about Gloria's gaze, then. Approval. Amusement. And something Novena can't quite put a finger on, something darker, foreboding. It made Novena wary. "True enough," And just like that, the spell is broken, the atmosphere light, easier, and Novena exhales a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Now, we ought to start running again. I'm sure you've gotten your breath back-"

The ground shakes from beneath them, and the two women stagger to their knees, hands braced on the ground as they steady themselves. A beastly roar rends the air, unlike anything they've heard of before, and the very trees seems to _tremble_ in response. Novena looks to her squad leader, dread pooling at the pit of her stomach.

"That's… not good." The younger Knight says, voice faint.

"Clearly," Executive Gloria replies, warily getting up to her feet, one hand straying to her thigh holsters, where her knives are stowed. "Moreover, it sounds too close-"

"-We need to confront it and neutralize it," Novena says, urgency colouring her voice. "The General would understand if we're delayed!"

The other woman shoots Novena a sharp look. "Do you think we can handle it? You do know it's just the two of us, right, dear?"

Novena chews on her lip, before nodding decisively, rolling her shoulders – she's completely healed now, whatever Nero gave her has run its course very effectively – clenching her fists. "The roar would've been heard all the way to Headquarters; Angelos will be sent to investigate, and we need to hold on long enough for reinforcement to come. We can make sure the fight ends in our favour, whatever we will be fighting."

Gloria sighs, a little dramatically, a little fondly. "There are times where I wonder about who is really in charge of this squadron." Novena flushes horribly, stammering apologies and deflections, and the exotic woman manages to chuckle, reaching out with one hand to pinch Novena's cheek. "I'm just teasing. Now, shall we be off?"

Novena didn't need any more prompting; she takes off, taking point as they run through the forest, ignoring the other demons they come across in order to give chase of whatever demon- _Devil_ that caused the massive ruckus. Whatever it was, it's massive, it's powerful, and it's fast. It must've sensed Novena and Gloria giving chase, and so it flees deeper into the forest, most likely aware of its pursuers.

She pulls out one of her Vital Stars – remembering she has some of these _life-saving_ items on hand this time – and downs it in one go, grimacing through the vile taste and powering through it. She has more important things to deal with than her sensitive taste buds. She tosses the empty container over her shoulder, and brimming with renewed energy, she pumps her legs faster, pace quickening even more.

They run, the two Knights giving chase to the demon through the forest, leading them closer and closer to the old ruins in the forest, leftovers from the earliest years of the Order. It was quite a ways away from the Headquarters, but at the same time, the people manning the watchtowers would be able to see the massive demon, especially if it's flying around. The Angelos would be called upon, and Novena and Executive Gloria would have their backup.

"I don't think this is a simple demon, dear!" Gloria calls out, running just as fast – if not faster – as Novena despite the exotic woman's ridiculous _high-heeled_ boots. "We could possibly be dealing with a Devil!"

"Then all the more it needs to be dealt with, Executive!" Novena replies, urgency in her tone. Normally, she wouldn't dare act so brazen, wouldn't dare speak this strongly against her officers. But Novena can admit she's not feeling completely herself at the moment, chest tight with terror and burning with hate for the man in red, the one who apparently caused this. Feeling something horrible for the man who killed _His Holiness_. "Please, we need to-"

"Alright, alright, no need to tie yourself into knots," The Executive sighs. She shakes her head, before shooting a sultry smirk Novena's way. "Well, see you there honey." And with that, the exotic woman curls up, crouches, before shooting off, putting on a burst of speed and taking to the trees, manoeuvring the treetops with nigh inhuman agility and ease.

Executive Gloria is almost as talented as Nero – if not on the same footing, actually – and no wonder the woman rose up the ranks as fast as she had. If Nero wasn't… well, isn't as stubborn and dismissive as he is, Novena is sure he would be an Executive now, if not higher.

But Nero is Nero, and Novena is fine with him the way he is.

Novena shakes all thoughts not related to hunting out of her mind, before putting her hands on the hilts of her sword, gripping them tight to ground herself, remind her where she is, remind her of what she has to do.

Kill demons. Avenge His Holiness. Protect Fortuna.

"In the name of the Knight, of the Dark Blade, of the Glorious Rebellion…" Novena whispers the prayer to herself, letting the familiar words comfort her, bring her calm, provide her with the strength to make it through this ordeal.

She can do this.

She breaks through the treeline, finding herself in a massive clearing – which seems to be a building, years and years ago, if the broken foundations on the corners of the clearing are to be judged – and seeing their prey for the first time.

It's massive, Novena could say, arguably bigger than the fiery Devil she and Nero fought in Ferrum Hills. Serpentine in shape, if not a little draconic, and it seems to be made of organic materials, made out of plant matter like vines, bark, leaves and the like. Its head – well, Novena assumes what she's looking at is the head – suddenly splits open, peeling away like a banana, and a woman-shaped figure comes out of the mouth, grotesque and horrifying.

"Foul, annoying pests, you dare attack me?!" It screams at them, voice shrill and grating, and Novena finally spots her squad leader off to the side, sees Executive Gloria fighting. Dodging what seems to be massive, sentient vines that is showing focused intent in skewering the exotic woman. Of course, with her skill, it was easy for Gloria to dodge them, even cutting some with her usual flair and her usual dramatics. "I'll feast on your flesh!"

Novena joins the fray at that point, grabbing a Holy Water from the depths of her coat and lobbing it at the she-demon viciously yet precisely. Unlike the fire demon she and Nero fought back in the mines, this one had nothing to burn away the blessed water, nothing to defend with, and so the she-demon gets the full effects, the water eating, melting away unholy flesh with no remorse.

The she-demon screams, wails, and Novena draws her weapons with single-minded focus and zeal. She groups with Executive Gloria, leaping over her and twisting, cutting at the vines herself, giving them elbow room to work with. Still distracted and occupied with pain, the she-demon didn't give them attention, which is fine. Novena can work with that distraction.

"Eager to play, aren't you?" Gloria teased, smiling her usual sultry smirk and sending it Novena's way.

The younger Knight, however, didn't chase down the she-demon to play. "I see a demon, and I need to kill it." Novena replies simply and truthfully, cutting right to the matter. "I _must_ kill it."

And so Novena takes out another Holy Water, tossing it, but the she-demon is aware enough this time to twist out of the way, pulling away its main body and gigantic green coils out of the path of the blessed water. Novena purses her lips when the glass orb shattered on the ground harmlessly, wasting precious resource, but no matter.

She just needs to get up close and personal, then. See how the monster likes her swords coated in holy water.

There was something in Executive Gloria's tone, something both wary and amused, but Novena has tuned her unnecessary words out now, still clocking the other's position with her senses when Novena moves forward towards the she-demon for an attack. The other woman follows up, settling in their usual combat strategy with nary a complaint or hesitation. Novena may sometimes disapprove of some of her squad leader's… choices, but Novena does respect and admire her, especially the older woman's combat prowess.

Like now, the two of them flows together, movements in near-perfect synchronization as they danced around each other and with their opponent, swords and knives flashing, cutting through the air and through vines and Chimera seeds the she-demon keeps spawning throughout the fight in order to distract them. Not that the Chimera seedlings did much; Novena was on them and tearing them apart before they even hatched.

Novena watches the she-demon – who had mentioned a name sometime earlier, Echidna, she thinks – roar with fury and anguish, before disappearing into the plant dragon's maw, completing the monstrous form. It snarls and hisses at them, before launching itself up into the air, circling the area at high speeds, sticking low to the ground, slipping within the trees to hide itself.

Novena and Gloria has their backs pressed against each other's, standing in the middle of the area as they watched the forest itself shudder around them, roused to 'life' at the presence of the she-demon. A unique and extremely powerful demon, Novena acknowledges to herself in the privacy of her mind, and she flexes her grip around her swords.

The she-demon must die, definitely. And if that thing to her right – the massive slab of black-coloured monolith – is what she think it is, then that thing must be destroyed as well.

"Executive Gloria, that thing-"

Gloria hums, almost nonchalant if not for the way she's coiled tight like a spring, like a predator about to pounce and snap her prey's neck. "A Hell Gate."

Novena slows her breathing, ignores the forest for a moment. "It's the same to the one Nero and I found. In Ferrum Hills." She breathes, eyes tracking the she-demon making a ruckus in the forest but failing to keep up at times. Curse her human capabilities. "How… how did those things come up here?"

There's unease in Gloria tone then, as the forest's shudders increased, the disturbance reaching a fever pitch now. "I don't know, but we will destroy the Hell Gate, one way or another." That's comforting, at least.

Executive Gloria may be flashier and fancier than a peacock, but she's a peacock with deadly knives and even deadlier skills. Novena may not have been under her command for long – just a little over three months, really – but she trusts her squad leader with her life, trusts Gloria to command her as needed.

"Good." Novena breathes, muscles coiling tight-

A roar, different from the first one, rips through the air, and it has the two women tensing up. And for good reason, because the ground beneath them shakes and trembles as whatever new hellish beast charges towards them. The trees to their south east are shuddering _moving_, and they turned to face the new demon.

A massive creature – distinctly leonine in shape – leaps out of the forest, roaring in defiance and challenge, and Novena can feel her stomach sink down to her very feet, dread pooling inside her. One Greater Demon they could handle.

But two?

Novena grits her teeth, tightens her grip on her swords, on Brutus, on Cassius. One sword in each hand, one for each demon? No. She can't make it. She's not strong to take one on her own; still too weak, still painfully human. Her medications makes her stronger than humans, the medications makes the Knights stronger than humans – because if they weren't stronger than a human, they wouldn't survive a day in the brutal isle of Fortuna – but she's no Nero. No Gloria. No General Credo.

She's just Novena.

The Knight curls up, ready to pounce, engage the green lion when someone snags the back of her coat, drags her back a moment, drags her mind back to something more coherent and level-headed, something less feral and wild.

"At ease soldier," Executive Gloria often doesn't act her superior, but when she does, her frigid tone and sharp words cut through whatever haze Novena's mind is fogged up with. "Let's not get too excited, yes?"

In the sky, the dragon circles, the she-demon cackling in glee, in what she thinks is their imminent death. In front of them, the lion waits, snarls, paces around them and waiting to pounce. It's funny; Novena has always wanted a cat growing up, ever since reading about it in her lesson book, but there are barely any animals in Fortuna, what with the presence of demons driving their senses up the walls, turns _all_ of them into prey, into food.

Novena breathes in, jaw aching from how hard she clenched it. Executive Gloria makes sense, speaks sense, and Novena forces herself to calm down. "What do we do?" She asks, back to being a soldier, a lower ranking Knight, a person to direct and order around. She's fine with that; it easier to live when you have direction.

"Echidna seems content on letting her little pet deal with us. Unless we pose a serious threat, she will not come down, not to deal with the 'vermin' when her kitty cat can do it for her." Gloria saunters up to stand in front of her, facing down the demon lion with her usual calculated recklessness, confident – not at all arrogant – of her skill to face the unholy creature. "So we'll stall. Fight this one, drag it out, make it look like we're losing."

"Echidna will think she'll win, make her complacent," Novena immediately catches on, eyes widening, hands shifting on her swords. Yes, yes, the plan is not only logical but _effective_, and it would give their reinforcements ample time to arrive, prepare. They can do this, without massive loss on their side. "Lead the way."

Gloria titters, twirls her odd knives in her hands as she crouches low, smirking. Novena moves beside her, two women, two dancers, two demons, four blades.

They clash.

Or rather, Gloria and Novena danced around the plant lion, neither winning nor losing, extending the stalemate for as long as needed. The constant motion – the constant act of dodging, feinting, and attacking – is tiring Novena, true, but she holds fast, dregs up every last bit of energy she has. She'll pay for this later, she knows, but at the moment all she can see is the demons in front of her, and what she has to do.

All the noise the she-demon and the lion caused could wake the whole island, Novena is sure, and she's confident that the Angelos would reach them soon, provide backup-

A high whine builds up in the air, the air pressure changing, shifting, and Novena grins, aborting her lunge with a twist. She spots Executive Gloria, surprise and lack of comprehension on her face, and Novena doesn't think, she tackles her superior, just in time for a beam of energy to hit the lion, scorching its side, burning away bark, vines, leaves and other plant matter, burning a sizeable chunk out of the hell beast. It roars in pain, loud, primal, threatening to burst Novena's ears, but she could only grin in satisfaction at its plight, anticipation blooming in her chest.

The air hums, whizzes over and over, and Novena uncurls from Gloria, lifting her hear to see the air filled with the Angelos. Novena spots three Alto Angelos, leading six Bianco Angelos each. Three full squadrons; this fight is their win now.

A delighted laugh bursts free from Novena's lips; they'll win! She turns to her squad leader, both of them climbing to their feet and backing up a little, giving space for the armoured Knights, and the two demons – with Echidna finally joining the fight with a wail of fury.

"Let's run interference, Executive," Novena suggests, sheathing Brutus and Cassius and palming the orbs of Holy Water she still has on her. "Joining the thick of the fight would just mess up the others."

"Good thinking, dear." Gloria replies, eyes darting to the Angelos, to the demons they're fighting – quite effectively, Novena might add, chest bursting with pride for her fellow Knights. Novena knows for a fact that Gloria has yet personally see the Angelos in action – has only seen the empty, unmanned armours – so Novena knows that seeing Angelos in flight are a sight to see.

Chief Alchemist Agnus is a genius, and a blessing to the Order.

"Hail, Knight Novena!" One of the Altos has flown closer, and Novena can't help but beam, moving closer to the golden-white Angelo. She knows this voice! "Are you and Executive Gloria unhurt?"

"Nicene!" Novena calls out happily, reaching out with a hand to touch the Angelo, manned by Knight Nicene, and letting the other Knight look her over. "We're fine, thank you. I'm relieved all of you came just in time. Who's with you?"

"Knight Maria, and Knight Angelus. Scouts spotted the demons, and we deployed as fast as we could. I… We're glad you're safe, Knight Novena," Nicene says, voice distorted by the helm, yet the warmth in his voice is clear, unmistakable. Novena smiles widely in response. "We thought we lost you."

"You have to thank Knight Nero for that." Novena replies, making her tone purposefully light. She knows Nero isn't rather popular with the ranks of the Knights – she's no fool, and her ears work fine – but damn her if she wouldn't try to soothe the other Knights, make them lighten up, even just a little bit.

"Oh." Surprise is clear in Nicene's tone, and if Novena could see the other Knight's face, he would be blinking his tawny hazel eyes in surprise. "Oh, is that so? Then I shall… thank him. Once this is over."

Novena nods, content with that for the moment. She steps back from the Alto Angelo, who flies to join the others once more. The air is loud with the sound of almost everyone flying, the thrum and whine and snarls from the Angelos, and the screaming and roaring from the two demons. Two squads are dealing with Echidna, and one squad on the lion. It's fine, they'll be fine; Maria is there, the second best Knight of their batch, and Angelus is the top ranker of his batch, the one preceding Maria and Novena's own batch. Nicene is nothing to underestimate as well, just as skilled as the rest of them, just as competent.

"… I don't think we are needed here, actually," Executive Gloria says, and Novena has to agree, watching her fellow Knights, her brothers-in-arm, work together seamlessly, dealing with the demons well enough. "Should we head back?"

Novena is about to answer, when suddenly Maria's voice call out, thick with excitement and relief. "General Credo!"

Novena perks up, a smile over taking her face. The General is here?! Then the demons no longer stand a chance!

She whips her head around, looking for her superior, and she sees him then, descending down from the heavens, the Order's very own avenging Angel; Angelo Credo. He has shed his human shape, instead taking on the features of a divine being, the strongest of the Saviour's holy servants. General Credo's marble and gold feathers catch and gleam in the sunlight, casting him with an ethereal glow, making him look more divine, look more the perfect Angel. His lone wing is spread, magnificent and encompassing, a symbol of safety for his fellows, and an advent of death for their foes. The shield in his left arm is held aloft, ready to defend, and the golden sword is held in General Credo's right hand, ready to strike and cut down demons.

Echidna and her lion becomes hesitant, clearly wary of the new arrival, and Novena can't help but whisper a prayer of thanks. If she has any hesitation and doubts left, it's all gone now. General Credo surveys the battlefield, quiet and tense, before he looks down at Novena and Gloria. Novena straightens in reflex, when the General's glowing eyes fall on her.

"Head back to Headquarters, Knight Novena, Executive Gloria," He orders, voice chilling but exuding the feeling of protection. "Angelos, escort them. Get them out of here as fast as you can."

Two of the Biancos break away from their group, landing in front of Novena and Gloria. The rest of the Angelos group closer to Credo, who points his sword towards the demons, the others doing the same and presenting a rather daunting united front. Echidna hisses at them, trying to intimidate, and Novena can't help but grin when no one reacts, no one moving in response to the display.

These demons will die, and soon.

It's a shame Novena wouldn't be the one to land the killing blow, she thinks as she allows the Bianco Angelo to gather her into its arms, shifting to find a position that isn't as uncomfortable for her. Beside them, she can see Executive Gloria also being carried by the Angelo assigned to her. She looks… bewildered, and Novena stifles a laugh, just in time for the Angelos carrying them to take flight, forcing Novena to wrap her arms around the Angelo's shoulders.

As they fly away, Novena peer's over the Angelo's shoulders, past his wings, and whispers a prayer for her fellow Knights and their General. She turns back towards the direction they're flying towards – towards Headquarters – and she yearns. Soon, soon. Just a little bit more.

Just a little bit more, and she'll finally Ascend.


	11. this man-made purgatorio

**[NERO]**

Everything is so dark. Can't see, can't hear, can't feel. Where? Where, where, where, where? When? Why? What is happening? Is something happening? Everything is so dark, so cold, so suffocating. Suffocating, can't breathe, can't move, can't hear see feel can't move can't move can't breathe hard to think hard to think everything is coming together too fast too slurred everything. Is. So. Dark.

Was falling, then falling, falling, falling, until it all stopped. Then falling, falling, falling once more until it all stopped and it feels like floating. Not flying, no, but floating. Like atop the water or in the water, like back then when jumping into the beach is fine, diving beneath the waves is okay and there's nothing wrong with that.

There's something wrong, there's something crawling beneath the skin, like bugs, insects, needles crawling beneath the skin, eating away, bite, bite, bite, bite at the flesh that heals too slowly, at the flesh that burns and burns and burns with each bite, bite, bite, bite. There's a noise, a screaming, and it hurts, hurts, hurts there are insects beneath the skin biting away at the flesh and it burns and it hurts and then they're drinking blood, red water that gives life, _is_ life, and it hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts-

_And I looked, and behold a pale man. Blue is the robe that clothes him, and moonlight makes his hair. His back is to me, and there is pride in the line of his shoulders. At his side is a sword, wrought from beauty and steel and ice, and it sings a death song, a haunting and bewitching tune. This man is important, and he knows it. And I know it as well. _

_I know not of him, but I know I should know of him. _

"Who are you? You are not me." _I ask of him, I ask his back. _

_He neither turns nor moves, yet his speaks. His voice is that of ice, of steel, of something cold and hard and unforgiving and cutting. Yet I know it. I should know it. _

"Who are **you**?_" He asks me in return._

_I cannot answer him._

Chains are made to restrain, to stop, to trap, to immobilized and can't move, can't move, can't flee, the need to escape, to run, to get out the claws and tears under the skin. There is screaming and crying, beg, beg, beg, beg. Why beg? Beg for it to stop, stop, stop, let go, stop, please, it hurts, stop, please, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, please, please, please stop. But it doesn't stop, the pain doesn't stop, it doesn't, and there's screaming and crying and begging for it all to stop.

It doesn't stop. The chains aren't moving, the insects and the needles are back and they hurt a lot, they keep taking, they don't stop, they don't stop. Sometimes floating, sometimes sinking, sometimes it's too much, sometimes it's not enough. It's all confusion, too much confusion, can't keep up, can't think, hard to think. There's screaming again, screaming and crying. Someone is talking. Who? Who is talking? Who is screaming? Who is screaming, crying, talking, talking crying, screaming, crying, screaming, talking, talking, talking, _talking, talking, talking-_

Quiet. Everything is quiet. Everything is quiet and shut up , shut up shut up shut up, the silence is too loud, too annoying. It's the quiet screaming this time and make it stop make it stop make it stop, it's too loud, it's too annoying, stop, stop, stop, please stop, please, please, please, stop-

_Faces bleed together, faces I know and can put a name to. _

_Credo. _

_Novena. _

_Kyrie. _

_They're important to me, I know, and I know it well. These faces are the faces of those who I hold close, who I value deeply. I speak to them with a rough tongue, with even rougher actions, but they're important to me, the very few treasures I can call my own. _

_Credo who guided me, who taught me, stood in the place of where my missing father is. He took me in when no one would, taught me when no one would. He helped me onto my feet, and though he didn't hold my hand, he watched over me. He spent his precious prayers over me, asked his Savior of blessings for my sake. Credo is a brother, a friend, a father, and a teacher all in one, and thus he is important to me. _

_Novena who keeps reaching out, holding her hand to me, waiting, waiting, always waiting for me to take it, no matter how long it took me. Because in the end, I would always take her hand, because she is important to me as well. I made walls of steel and blades, cutting, sharp, dangerous, but she never cared. She slipped through those bladed walls, lets herself be cut on purpose, all to get to me. She reached out, and waited for me to take her hand. _

_Kyrie. _

_Kyrie. Kyrie. Kyrie. Kyrie. Kyrie._

_Kyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyriekyrie-_

_Kyrie is important. She is soft, and warm, and lovely, oh so lovely. I fell for her the first time I met her, all those years ago, and every day I fall deeper for her still. Her voice soothes the demons screaming inside my head, eases the pain out of me. She smiles at me like I hung the stars and moon for her, smiles like the sun. She's all I see, all I'll ever see, and I wouldn't have it other way. I hope she'll have me, and only me. I don't know if I can take it if I lose her. _

_Then I saw a figure in front of me. _

_The figure had Kyrie's body, but Novena's eyes. They're wearing a plain white dress, with long brown hair falling to their waist. A crown of gold sits on their head, with golden chains hanging down and chiming softly. They approach me, and they talk with Credo's voice. _

"Wake up, Blood of S-"

There are other voices now. They call a name. Nero. They call out to Nero. Voices that cry and sob and plead. Nero, won't you save us? Nero, won't you see us free? We're suffering, we are hurting. We shouldn't be here. Won't you let us go? They voices call out to the one called Nero, who wakes, slowly, but surely. One bit of his soul at a time, waking up, fixing itself, filling in the missing gaps of his soul. Everything hurts, and it's hard to think, but the one who is called Nero wakes.

'Nero, please, help us, it hurts.'

"What should I do?"

'Kill us. We shouldn't be here. Send us back. Send us back by killing us. Please.'

"You want to die?"

'It hurts less. Please, Nero.'

The one called Nero nods to himself, eyes bleeding red and patches flesh flaking away to reveal blue and red scales. The back of his head splits open, two ivory stumps pushing out, covered in blood. People screamed around him, panicking and afraid and confused, but the one called Nero doesn't hear any of it. He speaks to himself.

"Okay. I'll kill you. If I can make it hurt less."

'Please.'

A phantom of blue appears behind Nero's human-demon-inhuman body, looming over the young man. People are screaming, running, panicking, hiding, crying, fleeing. Nero holds a hand out.

_It's the man in blue. The one who carries himself as king. I am afraid of him, then, for his face was mine, and my face was his. His eyes are cold, colder than anything I've known, and they glitter with hatred and malice. _

"Take her." _He says, smiling cruelly. _"Take her, and become a legacy of death and destruction."

_I don't want to. _

"You don't want to?" _He laughs, and it hurts to hear it._ "But you desire power."

_To protect. To save._

_He laughs again._ "Foolishness. But… you amuse me. Take her, then." _The King in Blue fades into the darkness of my mind. _"See if she answers to you."

_I take her._

The sound of glass shattering rings throughout the facility, and the ground shakes. A light with the intensity of the sun coalesces in Nero's hand, forcing people to hide their faces, turn their eyes away.

Nero looks down at the object in his hands, eyes that are red and unseeing.

"Give me… more power." Her murmurs.

The light dies away, and Yamato reveals itself, whole, unblemished, unbroken. The screaming in Nero's head and the screaming around him intensifies, and Nero looks up, looks at the people in white surrounding him.

He unsheathes Yamato.


	12. a task for the faithful

**[NOVENA]**

The moment she arrived in the Headquarters, Novena was whisked away the moment she placed a foot down on the marble ground, taken away from Gloria before she could even react.

As it was, Novena can only exchange bewildered looks with her officer before she's taken down a hallway, through several doors, further and deeper into the Order's Headquarters. There's an air of restlessness and excitement in the air, that much is obvious; no doubt the people are eager for the new group of Knights to Ascend. Save for Nero, almost the entirety of Novena's batch is going to Ascend.

A little odd that Nero wouldn't be included; sure, he's too headstrong for his own good, but he's a good man past his rough exterior. Credo – being Nero's adoptive brother/oldest friend – could've put in a recommendation, but he hadn't. Maybe there's a reason…?

Ah, no matter.

"You must prepare for the Ceremony, Knight Novena," Her escort suddenly says, bringing the Knight back to the present and out of her wandering thoughts. "His Holiness will be presiding over the Ceremony himself!"

Novena perks up, smiling widely. "His Holiness is revived?!"

Another one of her escort nods, just as enthusiastic and relieved as her. "He underwent the Ascension earlier than planned, but it was needed. He fused with a fragment of the Devil Sword Sparda, and His Holiness is reborn as a true servant of the Savior." The escort bowed their head. "Savior bless Him and keep Him."

Novena and her other escorts bow their head in the same manner, speaking solemnly. "Savior bless Him and keep Him, amen."

Their group continued in expectant silence, the hubbub in the Headquarters washing over them, gently coaxing their own excitement at the long awaited Ceremony, the long awaited moment of when their plans and efforts would come to fruition. Soon enough, they reach the waiting chambers, and left Novena there, the attendants inside rushing out and taking their turn in manhandling Novena themselves. The female Knight goes with them willingly, unbothered, and soon enough, she is washed – all the blood, grime, sweat and whatever that clung to her – thoroughly, tanned skin feeling a little bit tender from the attention, and she's stripped out of her abused uniform, instead now wearing a simple white dress. Her hair – cut short because of an errant Assault – is neatly combed and gelled back.

The women amongst the attendants tutted and tsked at her short hair, and she feels the slightest bit of shame; to a woman of Fortuna, her hair was her pride, and the symbol of her womanhood. And for Novena to have such a scandalously short hair, well…

The again, it wasn't like Novena _allowed_ that Assault to give her such a sloppy and horrible haircut. And an unwanted haircut at that.

When Novena is presentable, she is released to the chamber proper itself, resembling the chapel in Fortuna Castle. Pews lined up in an orderly manner, 12 pews on the left of the altar, and another 12 pews on the right. The pews are almost completely filled, and Novena dithered for a moment, searching for a spot-

A hand closed around her elbow, and Novena looks, only to smile widely when she is faced with another of her batch mates. Preces, to be exact; the quietest out of them, maybe even the most… boring. Of course, Novena means it as a compliment, something good, even! With the sheer chaos each person in their batch could cause – Novena is honest to enough to admit that in her youth, she was… something – it was good that they have someone so boring. So _normal_ and _easy_.

Preces smiled politely at her, dipping his head before he links their elbows together, leading her. "The others are already in our assigned places. Knight Maria and Knight Nicene has been called away not long ago-"

"Yes, I know," Novena interrupts gently, nodding. "There was a demon too close to the Headquarters; a full Devil, to be specific. I engaged it with Executive Gloria while we were en-route, and stalled it enough for three squads in total to be dispatched."

Preces makes a noise of acknowledgement, but otherwise, didn't continue. The taller Knight leads Novena to where the others of their batch are, towards the front, almost centre – His Holiness has always favoured their batch, after all – and Novena is quietly but warmly greeted by her brothers-in-arms, or at least, the ones closest to her age, the ones she really grew up with.

"We honestly thought you died, short-stuff," Ave says quietly, tilting his head just so, long black hair tied in a neat braid instead of his usual pony-tail. His voice, always so rough, is rougher now, though it carried hints of concern. Looking at the others as she slips into a free seat, she saw their concern, and she feels warm. "The scouts…"

"Weren't there, they were too slow to see what happened." Novena says quietly, smiling, reaching forward to squeeze Ave's shoulder. "Knight Nero saved me; I'm alive because of him."

"He's still scary." Caeli, always so blunt, so straightforward. "I don't know how you put up with that beast of a brat." His voice is light, innocent. Despite his harsh words, Caeli is a good man, kind, even. He just… doesn't have any sort of mouth filter whatsoever.

Still, on the topic of Nero… Novena sighs, smoothing out her dress over her legs. "I've told all of you, he's not _bad_." She says, just a little bit exasperated. This is a years-old argument of theirs that never really went anywhere. "I don't know why you're so scared; he's all bark, and barely any bite. He would be nice, if you treat him _just as nicely_."

There are various noise around her – varying levels of disbelief or outright derision – and Novena can only roll her eyes. She loves these guys as if they're her blood brothers, but their unwillingness to even _try_ and be nice to Nero is grating. Fortunately for Novena's blood pressure, Oratio steps in, ever the responsible one.

"Calm down, the service is about to start." Everyone shifts then, sitting straighter, falling quiet in reverent silence. Just then, Maria and Nicene slips in to join them, the others shifting to make space for them. Novena nods at them, mouthing a quiet 'thank you' to the two who came to her aid earlier.

Nicene, the sweetheart that he is, grins and nods, while Maria smirks at her, smug and so superior. Novena can only roll her eyes, before turning back towards the altar, putting the white veil Preces gives her over her head. She doesn't have time for Maria and his ego right now, no matter how indebted she is to him.

His Holiness enters the chamber then, whole and _alive_, and Novena finally breathes in relief, feeling gladness deep in her heart upon seeing the Vicar alive once more, complete. Better than ever. His Holiness moves over to the altar, smiling over at them with a kind face, warm with fatherly affection and adoration. The hush that falls over the Knights is reverent and worshipful, and Novena is the same; she lowers her head, casting her eyes to the ground in respect and adoration of the man who raised her with his own hand.

His Holiness speaks then, launching into a sermon. He speaks of servitude, loyalty, their faith in their Savior, the Dark Knight Sparda. It was an old sermon, told ever since Novena was young, but like the first time, she still listens raptly, attentively, her attention to His Holiness's voice and words unwavering. She's sure she can recite the sermon word for word, something Nero would no doubt mock her relentlessly for, but she doesn't care.

Not when the words of faith and hope are one of the few things that keep her alive and sane.

The sermon continues, and near its end, a communion was called. They all rose, the ones in the front – including Novena and her brothers – being the first to line up before His Holiness, standing before the basin filled with blessed water.

One by one, they take the cup, and drink the water. His Holiness watched the proceedings with a proud smile, quiet but there, and soon enough, it's Novena's turn to drink the water. She takes the cup, dips her head towards His Holiness, who smiles at her in fondness. She smiles back.

"Savior bless me and keep me." She murmurs, before dipping the cup into the water, taking some of it, before drinking.

It burns, the water, but she doesn't let pain show, doesn't let it affect her as she drinks and drinks the holy water. It burns her inside out, tears up her throat, threatens to melt her oesophagus, and settles in her gut like acid.

It hurts, but then again, keeping to the faith was hard. To _live_ is hard.

Novena drinks it all, without a change in her expression, without the shaking of her hand, and she sets the cup down softly, with a soft clink.

His Holiness smiles at her in pride.

The blessed water has always burned them, ever since they were young. But it was fine, His Holiness said, confirmed by the Chief Alchemist, that the holy water burns them because it rids them of their sins, their impurities, their failures. A divine purging, a soul-deep cleansing in order for them to forgiven by their Savior, to be made new. The first years were worst, but as they kept to the tradition, all these years, it got better. Until the burn was something familiar, something expected.

It hurts, but when she tells Nero she can stand a lot of pain, she _means_ it.

Novena joins the rest of her brothers, already kneeling, head bowed, hands clasped together in prayer. She slips between Nicene and Caeli, and she bows her head the same way as them, clasps her hands the same. With their group complete, they pray together, as they were taught to, way back then.

"Our Savior, thou art Thee in Hell; worshipped be Thy Name. Thy Legion come, Thy War be done, our lives and swords laid at Thy feet. Give us this day our strength and faith, and forgive us our weakness, as we fail to cut down the demons that torment us so. We plead Thee not to abandon us, not in these times of darkness and terror… For Thy power is absolute, thy grandeur, thy glory, forever and ever…" The lift their heads as one, looking up towards His Holiness who watched over them. "Amen."*

With a wordless gesture, His Holiness bids them to stand, to follow him. All the Knights present did so, and they moved with supressed, eager smiles.

It was time to Ascend.

_The Ascension Ceremony is a curious ritual, Agnus had found out, almost two decades back. Closing in on three, actually. Of course, it wasn't called that back then. Simply a nameless ritual, found in a book, in a place with no name, no history, no life._

_While it's true that the Ascension Ceremony the Order of the Sword has in their control is developed and perfected by him, the truth – the absolute, __**grating**__ truth is that he isn't the one to make it from scratch. Isn't the one to build his crowning glory from the ground up. It irks him to no end, makes his teeth grind, his fists clench, his lips to stutter over his words worse than usual._

_Anyway. Back to the then unnamed Ascension Ceremony. _

_It was a rather curious ritual, because aside from being demonic in nature – because of course it has to be demonic – it speaks of __**drawing out the demon**__ from a human's soul. It spoke about a sleeping demon inside every soul, inside every human, and with the ritual, that demon could awaken, take the human's host place or coexist, and the demon could __**live**__. _

_The ritual detailed that millennia ago, there isn't a single human. This is fact. Agnus knows that fact as well. But the creation of human didn't come from the evolution of primate to homo sapien, no; the ritual said that no evolution happened when it came to the creation of human, but rather, humans are __**begotten**__ from the devolution of __**demons**__. _

_Utter hubris, in Agnus's opinion. _

_It's ridiculous that humans are descended from demons, as nice as that thought is, but demons __**do not**__ devolve, as Agnus has proven from his own research. After all, who is he to believe? His updated, modernized research born from the fruit of passion and science? Or the ramblings of a lunatic from centuries ago? Of course he'd believe his own work! __**He saw the truth; his eye is open to it**__. _

_Still… _

_The ritual gave him an idea. It gave him a thought to entertain, a thought that would become the finalized, the __**perfected **__Ascension Ceremony. _

_Humans may not __**evolve**__ to become a human, but… But humans could certainly fuse with them. Unite with a demon, one way or the other. _

_Possessions, speaking through mediums, supernatural activity, supernatural acts, __**miracles**__; all influences of demons, through a human. Demons may not be able to cross the barrier between the human world and the demon world, but the stronger ones, the ones classified as '__**Devils**__'… they certainly could reach the human plane with their influence. They're strong enough to expend the energy, expend power to leave imprints on the human world, made stronger via a conduit that is born of this world, __**is of this world**__. Humans. _

_Through humans, Devils can be stronger in a plane where they do not exist, and on the same note, humans can be stronger with the presence of a Devil. Theoretically, a possibility for coexistence between Devil and man can be achieved. A union born of a devil and human, but not through procreation. _

_But demons, specifically the Devils, would not consent to being 'assigned' to a human, no? They have their own pride, so stubborn, so foolish, selfish. Too greedy of power to ever share it. Agnus had to find another way of fusing man and demon together, and his answer came to him in the form of Devil Arms. _

_Devil Arms, as he found out a relics wrought from the very soul of a Devil. More often than not, Devil Arms are weapons of mass destruction, powered by the essence of their original form, the weapons having almost the same abilities as when they were complete and whole. Devil Arms, also, are essentially a dead Devil, but without the annoying aspect of non-existence. Moreover, a Devil Arm still carries a complete soul. Supressed, yes, but __**whole**__. _

_Now, if one were to transfer the soul within a Devil Arm into a human… _

Novena watches as the operators affix the Devil Arm she will be absorbing into the extraction machine, placing it carefully within the glass cube, watching as wires attach themselves to the Devil Arm. The lights briefly glow a violent shade of red, before fading to a pure white colour. Novena allows herself to be manoeuvred into the stone table, laying atop it, relaxing as wires are affixed to herself this time. She knows the process, knows what it means, so she's not too worried.

She's the last of their batch to ascend, the others having gone first, but that's fine. Beyond the Ascension chamber are the others, recovering from their own Ascension. Novena turns her head, looks at the Devil Arm she had picked, the one she'll unite with in a few moments.

Devil Arm Dracula.

She found it in Germany, in one of the overseas hunt she managed to participate in, when they sought out Devil Arms both to power the Savior and for the Ascension Ceremony. As she was the one to track it down and successfully retrieve it from a trap-riddled tomb, she was given the right to fuse with it, if she so chooses. Eager, Novena had agreed, accepting that when the time comes, Devil Arm Dracula will be absorbed into her.

The time is now, and the Devil Arm pulses quietly in its containment. She always felt a pull towards the Devil Arm, the small, wicked looking stiletto. All these months since she retrieved it, she often finds herself seeking it out in the Room of Relics.

Maria caught her once staring at it, hand poised to grab the stiletto through the barriers. She didn't return for quite a while.

Now though, it's fine; she's not too worried anymore. After all, the soul within Devil Arm Dracula shall become hers. She will subjugate it, make it her own, and she'll Ascend as an Angel, freed from the weakness of her human flesh, freed from the chains holding her back from her full potential, what she _truly_ could be.

She'll turn the very power of demons on to its kin. Fight fire with fire. Just like what the Dark Knight Sparda had done.

As the Chief Alchemist starts the Ascension Ceremony, with His Holiness watching from the balcony above all their heads, Novena closes her eyes and accepts the Blessing.

She jerks at the initial introduction of pure demonic energy into her system, but it didn't hurt, just supremely uncomfortable. Like there's… _something_, beneath her skin, in her bones. Pushing outwards, applying pressure, slowly, gently, but insistently, until Novena feels like her skin and flesh is _too tight_. It settles after a moment, but she can't help gritting her teeth and squirming, sweating beading at her temple.

She feels it then, her insides _changing_, her very muscles and organs morphing in a way it decidedly _shouldn't_. Oddly enough, she feels no pain, just. Discomfort. She can't help jerking up the stone table this time, gasping when she feels her bones break and shatter before reforming in the same instant. It didn't hurt, _nothing in the Ascension hurt_, but.

The process is over almost as soon as began, just a handful of minutes, not even five, but Novena is gasping, sweating, shaking just a little bit because that was an ordeal she… she wouldn't repeat. She pushes herself up on her arms, feeling so weak and unsteady, but she manages it. The first step is done. The Devil Arm's soul is within her body, residing beside her own, but she has one more step to fulfil.

She's not united fully, not yet, not until she takes the next step.

The operators scurry to her, helping her to her feet-

"Oh," One of the operators blink, stepping back and looking _up_ at her. "Oh my."

"Is something wrong?" Novena asks, worry flooding her mind, more and more as the other operators begin to take notice as well, stepping back and looking at Novena with wide eyes. "Um…?"

"How fascinating!" It's the Chief Alchemist this time, Agnus. He skitters over, adjusting his monocle, pen flying across his clipboard at speed. "It seems the union with Devil Arm Dracula also produced physical changes within you, same with the others! But with your unique physiology, the changes are far more prominent, far more obvious… I must record this, look into the difference of male and female candidates subjected to the Ascension…"

Novena stares after for a moment, confused, before looking down on herself and-

Oh.

Her dress, which brushed down to her ankles, is now _three inches_ above her ankles. Maybe even four. She lifts up the hem, looks at her legs, then at her arms, wrapping her hand around them and squeezing. She's much more muscular. Nothing overly dramatic, not even much enlargement of her muscles, but, she was a little on the skinny side, then. Now, she's, well… She doesn't even know.

She pushes past that awestruck operators with apologetic words, stumbling over to the mirror, and she could only stare. The Novena that stares at her from the mirror is _her_, yes, but. Different. This one looks every bit the warrior. A Knight, strong and solid. Nothing like the delicate, waifish image Novena HAD before the Ascension.

A grin curls her lips, and she's amazed that in the mirror, she doesn't look beautiful, but she looks _handsome_. In a roguish sort of way. Now, maybe Nero's jokes of her looking like a guy – she can't help her chest is flat, alright – isn't so far off, and he wouldn't even be able to give her grief because of how _good_ she looks.

She turns away from the mirror, towards the operators. She's dallied long enough, she needs to finish this, she needs to finish her Ascension, complete what should be _hers_-

"Take me to the White Room."

The White Room is where the final step of the Ascension Ceremony is taken. There's no fancy equipment in there, or any trials to face and conquer before a Knight can deem himself fully Ascended. There's only a sword there, just a couple hands longs, and someone waiting to clean away the blood that would no doubt make a mess.

After all, the last step to the Ascension Ceremony is to die.

"_Agnus," Sanctus calls softly, voice gentle and warm. Honey to the ears of the faithful, a comforting call to the sheep in his care. "My favourite, she's well?"_

"_M-more than well, Your Holiness!" Agnus enthuses, drifting closer, hands flipping through the papers in his clipboard. There's an excited gleam in Agnus's eyes, filled with something manic, something mad. "Out of all the Knights that Ascended today, she produced the highest results, despite her initial low outputs! It's an unexpected turn of events, true, but this is only the second time we've performed the Ascension Ceremony on a female human, and the first one where we have data from the start of the priming process until the Ascension itself." _

_Sanctus nods, pleased. He didn't chose wrong, when he chose the child he named 'Novena', 25 years back. He personally watched her grow, personally raised her even. Taught her the right things, what she should be, what she __**needs to be**__, and she flourished oh so wonderfully. She's a wonderful investment, paying off more than Sanctus expected by spades. Such a wonderful child, truly. _

"_Have you extracted what you needed, then?" Sanctus then asks, remembering the surprise that Agnus delivered to him, almost seven hours earlier. "The seed."_

_Agnus lips curl up in a satisfied smile. "I-I-I have, Your Holiness. It's potent, as expected. It will take root immediately, especially when directly introduced to the womb." _

_Sanctus nods. "Then the Project is proceeding nicely. Far earlier than anticipated, even. Such a fortunate turn of events." He remarks, pleased. The Vicar of Sparda turns to Agnus, who dips his head in reverence. "Complete the Project. Angelo Novena shall be the carrier of Project Bloodline. Tell her it was a direct request from me. Pull her out of the active roster, if you must. She must be protected. And the offspring that will no doubt grow within her."_

_It will be Sanctus gift for her; the honour of being the one to carry their God's Children. _

In the White Room, Novena plunges the blade into her chest, dies, and is reborn.


	13. calling on reinforcements

**[DANTE]**

The burnt down little mining town – the rubble was hours hold, same with the scent of that little devil child – was reduced to practically nothing by the time Dante and Lady were done here, and normally, Dante would feel bad, but.

Eh.

Then again, the moment they stepped foot in this place earlier, a Devil came flying out of nowhere – actually from the _fake, little Hellgate_ – and attacked them, and like the good Devil Hunters they were, they of course removed the problematic, pyromaniac Devil. Who was yelling about 'Berial' and 'father' and 'His Darkness will hear about this'.

Weird stuff.

Anyway, fast forward from that little scuffle leads them to the current situation; the little mining town that's already gone is practically non-existent now, the fake Hellgate destroyed – Lady and her trigger-happy self – and Dante in possession of a new Devil Arm, which was powering the Hellgate until Dante took the Devil Arm for his own.

Lucifer would make a nice addition to his collection. A pity that the new fire Devil didn't produce a Devil Arm, but oh well. He can't complain too much, and most likely that Devil was still too weak to manifest its Devil Arm form.

"So, what now?" Lady asks, reloading Kalina Ann's explosive rounds, having used quite a bit when she blasted the Hellgate to kingdom come. "We're going to go ahead and head up to the castle?"

Dante walks around the place for a bit, humming low in his throat. The demonic energies around the Hellgate is far more warped, a concentrated spot of erratic energy signatures that he didn't notice until he's standing next to it. Considering Yamato's energy is far stronger and far more familiar to Dante, he's not surprised he accidentally overlooked this thing. Besides, compared to The Hell Gate in the main city, this fake wasn't all that threatening. Relatively speaking, of course.

Hmm, what to do, what to do. Ideally, he wants to wait for Trish for further updates, but considering she went into radio silence hours prior, he has to play the waiting game for her, and hope they run into each other somewhere in this blasted island. Lady's suggestion – and their earlier plan – to head up to the castle is sound. For one, it sticks out like a sore thumb – and Dante has experience with lonely castles found on islands – and with the sheer size of it, coupled with the strategic location, they're both confident that the place hides so many interesting things.

So many interesting, _demonic_ things, most likely. Dante feels a headache brewing inside his noggin.

Ah, what to do…

"Babe, could you hand me your phone for a bit?" Dante brings a hand up, easily snatching said phone when Lady tosses it at his head. He swipes it open, thumbing through menus and scrolling through Lady's extensive contact lists.

He wonders why Lady keeps milking him for money when she apparently has… 20…. No, 30 more people to shake down? Tsk, the fairer sex really is crazier, huh?

Dante grins when he finally finds the contact simply named with a cat emoji, and he taps on it, pressing call and bringing the phone to his ear. He motions for Lady to go ahead, to climb the hill, but as expected, the stubborn woman merely stabs Kalina Ann into the ground, and leans against it, crossing her arms for good measure. Lady even has the gall to _whistle_.

Dante laughs quietly, shaking his head, before walking over to a sturdy piece of rock, whipping his coat out before taking a seat, one ankle resting over his knee. The phone in his hand is still ringing.

"**Hello?**"

Until it isn't. Dante perks up, a grin brightening up his face as the call finally connects, a very familiar voice reaching his ear through the phone's speakers.

"Lucy! Hey, it's been a while, yeah?" Dante exclaims, feeling warm. It's true. It's been a while since he talked with one of his oldest friends. Besides, this particular friend was a no show for the past… couple years, busy with one thing or another, always in another country, always so far away. "Did I disturb you?"

The one on the other end of the call laughs, quiet and fond. "**No, Dante, I'm not busy.**" There's a thoughtful pause. "**At least, not yet. Anyway, I feel like this isn't a simple call, Dante. Do you need something?**"

Ack. That obvious, huh? Then again, Dante wasn't quite social lately… Didn't call his close peers for the past few months, aside from Lady and Trish… Then again, those two go to him, and not the other way around…

Anyway.

"Uh, yeah. Sort of." Dante clears his throat. "You heard of Fortuna, right? Fortuna Island."

The silence is…. Worrying. "**Dante, what did you do this time.**" Not even the decency to phrase it like a question, really! His friends are a bunch of traitors, so happy to throw him under the bus, leave him hanging-

Dante chuckled, shaking his head even though it can't be seen by his old friend. "For once, it wasn't me!" The silence was sceptical. He didn't know silence can even do that. "Really! Look, I'm here on Fortuna Island because Lady got some really good intel. Not to mention first-hand account. There's… there's a group here that's obviously up to no good, and since my _Dearest Father_ is involved – can you believe that Lucy, the _audacity_ of these idiots – I gotta go and clean up. Right?"

"**Mhm.**" Ah, still so disbelieving. Then again, Dante doesn't blame his old friend. "**Continue**."

"Fortuna is home to a cult that worships Sparda of all things. Would've let it go, but they've been muddying up waters a little bit, especially in the hunter community. Butting in on jobs, nabbing Devil Arms left and right, making a nuisance of themselves, when they've secluded themselves for so long." Centuries long, Dante doesn't say out loud. "To make things worse, we found even more red flags than expected. Oh, I'm here with Lady and Trish, just to clarify."

There's a hiss, and shuffling of cloth. "**What red flags**?"

Dante hums. "Human to demon transformation."

There's another hiss this time, but much more agitated. "**Damn**."

"Yeah…" Dante sighs, bracing an elbow on his knee. "They have an entire organization of corrupted humans, and with what I've seen so far, their fighting force is made up entirely of corrupted humans, some of them on the brink of total transformation. I don't know about the desk-workers of the group, and the civilians are clean, but considering this cult runs the whole island, it's a bomb waiting to go off."

"**You really landed on something this time, huh?**" A sigh. "**What's up with your luck?**"

Dante grins unrepentantly. "Luck? I don't know her."

Another sigh, this time fond and exasperated in equal measures. "**Give the phone to Lady. I want the full thing.**" Dante pouts, but obediently gets up and hands Lady the phone, who gives him a raised eyebrow. Dante merely pushes the phone into her hand, before pacing away, whistling to himself while Lady gives the whole story, far more detailed and specific than Dante's shoddy attempt.

He knows Lady will be regurgitating everything she said weeks before, and then retelling their current shenanigans, so Dante feels safe in letting his mind wander, staring in the distance, not really seeing anything, but his senses attuned to Yamato's energy blanketing the whole place. Here, right around where the Hell Gate used to be, the energy is fluctuating too erratically, a little on the weak side.

Probably because the Hell Gate was used, was opened, and portals leading to the Underworld always leave disturbances, leaves evidences of its usage, especially obvious to those who know what to look for. Know what to _feel_ for.

Like Dante, for example.

Dante regards the fake portal – what was left of it, anyways – as he brings a hand up to his chin, rubbing at the stubble there, absent-minded and contemplative. There were a lot of questions running in his head, and very few he can question with surety. Questions like, 'why make false Hell Gates?', 'if there's a Hell Gate here, are there others?', 'what is the purpose of these Hell Gates?' have no answers, at least, not yet, and Dante already resigns himself to getting to the bottom of the truth about these honestly alarming man-made Hell Gates.

For being made by humans… These Hell Gates are worryingly powerful. It leaves ash in his mouth, but Dante has to admit their creator is a genius. A madman, yes, but then again, sanity was the price to pay for such gifts.

He needs to be put down, whoever this mad genius is.

Dante is interrupted from his thoughts by Lady, and he turns to her, smiling. Silently, she holds out the phone back to him, and her expression is carefully neutral, giving nothing away. Dante sighs, the smile sliding of his face. He has a clue about what's going to happen next.

"Lucy?" At the nickname, Lady's smile twitched upwards briefly, before she looks away, busying herself with her guns, checking over them obsessively once more. "Still there?"

"**Dante…**" There was a sigh, and Dante breathes softly. He's right. "**I'd… I'd help, but…**"

"That's cool, that's cool," Dante hurries to assure, because really? It's fine. Sure he would've liked it if he was able to solve this problem with another friend, but, he out of all people knows that sometimes, you really just… Can't leave. "It's no problem. Really!"

"**I'm sorry**-"

"Look, how about this?" Dante tries, cutting in. "Next trouble I find myself in, I'm calling you, or get the girls to call you, yeah?"

There was a bit of silence. "**… Dante, I don't think that's how it works.**" But there was amusement this time, so Dante does a fist pump in self-congratulations. Sad friend cancelled; crisis-averted! A victory for Dante, yeah!

"Well, I'm deciding that's how it works so, anyway, duty calls, Lucy!" Sputtering on the other end, and Dante allows himself to grin, pleased. "Gotta go, bye!"

"**Wait, Dante-!**" Dante presses the end button, and turns off the phone for good measure, before tossing the phone to Lady, who catches it with ease and a look of fond exasperation on her face. Dante just grins at her, shooting her finger guns as he starts walking.

"Must you really act like this Dante?" She asks rhetorically, shouldering Kalina Ann and following easily, out of the mining village, and up the path carved into the cliff, leading into the base of the mountain.

Dante shoots an innocent look over his shoulder at her. Well, as innocent as someone like him could be. "I'm not acting though." Big lie, and from Lady's eye roll, she's thinking the same thing.

Lady opens her mouth to retort, keep up the banter, their game, but there's a violent crash, somewhere deeper within the mines itself, and two Hunters exchanged wary glances, before moving as one. Dante in the lead, and Lady in the back, switching to smaller firearms, already cocked and loaded. The sight that greets them had their eyes going wide in alarm, and Lady darts forward faster than even Dante.

"Trish!" Lady calls out, panic in her voice, and she drops to her knees beside Trish's disguised form, who is on her knees, a hand on her stomach-

"You're bleeding!" Lady snarls, and she pulls out a small, star-shaped glass from her pocket of wonders, and Trish – her face different, her hair different, her form different, but the same eyes, same voice, same attitude – just gives the lone human a grin, far too sultry for her injured state.

"Aw, are you worried about lil' old me?" She winces when her shifting made her wound open, gushing blood, and the water pooling at the bottom of this broken mining shaft is starting to darken, starting to become red, stained with Trish's blood- "Don't worry- Dante!"

Dante has scooped up Trish, not caring about her outfit, her looks, only caring that Trish is _injured_ and those who did it better be ready. He's not feeling particularly forgiving at the moment. Not feeling…. Nice.

He sets down Trish on the base of the conveniently located Divinity Statue, and Lady descends upon Trish again, snarling lowly, practically shoving a Vital Star down the blonde's throat, before whipping out a thick roll of bandage and dressing the wound, despite it unnecessary for a demon who can heal herself. Yet Trish allows her, more for Lady's peace of mind than anything else, and Trish turns her ice blue eyes to Dante instead, who watches on quietly, stonily.

She sobers, and her fanciful disguise melts away, like mist dropping, and Trish's true face is revealed once more. Her expression is tight, unsettled. "They found me out, Dante." Is what she says, and Dante sucks a hissing breath in.

Damn.

"How?" He almost snaps, because without Trish working from the inside of the Order, they're going to go in blind. Nothing new, but still troublesome.

Trish shakes her head, drinks more Vital Star when Lady growls at her again. "I don't know. I was bound to report our latest mission, when I was escorted, then attacked. Older batch of Knights, all corrupted. One of them isn't a soul encased in an armour; he turned into a full Artificial Demon. I took him out, but the rest got the drop on me." She says, she gestures to her stomach. "Whatever they're doing to those kids Dante, it's inhuman. It's _sick_."

Lady stands up with an angry grunt, pacing, pacing, her hands itching towards her guns in agitation. Dante understands, wouldn't blame her if she suddenly starts shooting at the walls of the mine. "Well, we could stop them if we _knew_ where the hell they are!" She growls.

Silence from Trish, and Dante and Lady turns to her, their eyes narrowed, lips pressed into thin lines. Trish smiles at the humourlessly. She speaks.

"I know where they are."


	14. Author's Notes

Story undergoing subtle edits from Chapters 1-12; Chapter 13 coming soon

THIS STORY IS NOT DEAD, THE AUTHOR IS JUST TIRED


	15. even devils cry

**[NERO]**

The sword in his hands has a poisonous voice, Nero thinks, but it was made of sweetness and gentleness, coaxing dark thoughts and violent ideas from where Nero buried it in the recesses of his mind. The voice calls him by his name, in such a lovely voice, such a comforting voice. He can't help but listen, feels warmth bloom in his chest when he cuts down the people in white and the voice in his head approves, cooing at how he's such a good child, a worthy inheritor to the bloody throne of his father, whatever that means. Whatever that means.

Yamato is cold and cruel as Nero wields her, chasing after the people in white, cutting down with wild, savage strokes, knowing, knowing, _knowing_ it was these people who tortured him, who violated him, broke him into pieces and scattered his soul _somewhere_. He's hurt, he's hurting, he's _violated_ and those who violated him, broke him, touched his soul in such a foul manner is going to _die_.

He aches all over, feels his soul stretch itself _thin_, desperately patching up the missing gaps in his soul, and it hurts to move, to breathe, to think, but Yamato coaxes him, keeps him focused. There are people in white who needs to pay, and so Nero presses on, chases down the people in white like a wolf after sheep. Poisonous, traitorous, dangerous sheep.

If they were even sheep at all.

Nero looks dispassionately at the man he pounces on, Yamato cutting, slipping through flesh and bones and organs like it was no trouble. Blood bubbles from a mouth stretched wide in a silent scream of terror, as the now dead man sinks to his knees before toppling.

The scent of blood is strong. After all, Nero had painted this whole maze of white walls with the red of blood and gore.

Nero breathes erratically, shaking like a leaf, hands trembling but remaining locked around Yamato's tsuka.

There's blood all over him too, he notices; on his clothes – a plain white hospital robe – on his scaled hands and on his claws. Nero's sure he looks less than human right now – if he was even human at all – looking every inch the demon he fears he was. Nero wants to laugh, and laugh, and laugh, but all that comes out of his mouth is a strangled breath, too fast and too unsteady to be called normal.

He drops to the floor, Yamato clattering loudly on the marble, and Nero hugs his knees to himself, shaking and trembling at the force of his suppressed sobs. He's _hurt_, he's in _pain_ and he doesn't know what to do, what to think. He just killed people, so many of them, so many, so many, the white walls are _red_, and the smell of blood wouldn't go away, wouldn't disappear and he can taste the copper and the rust on his tongue, the taste of blood, the smell of blood, the sight of blood, the feel of blood-

It's familiar, he knows it, he wishes he doesn't, but he knows it, he knows blood, how he painted this walls red with the blood and guts of the people who hurt him, who violated him, who _tortured him_-

Nero lets out a strangled sob, claws digging into his arms, tears dripping down his face, to drop onto his skin, to soak in his bloodied robe. Nero can count on one hand the times he cried with fingers to spare, but he can't care about that right now. In the middle of a corridor seeping with blood, Nero cries in near silence, and the sound echoes against the marble walls. Mocking, derisive.

This wasn't supposed to happen, this wasn't supposed to happen, this isn't _true_. He's hallucinating, he's sure, still knocked out cold from the hard fight with Bael, because he's heavily injured, got banged up real good. The toad snuck in a lot of good hits, after all, and Nero hit his head none too gently. After all, even with him as he is, Nero has limits that surpasses human limitations-

He's not human.

Never was, never will be.

The blood in the walls speak of this truth. The scent of copper and rust agree. The blood on his clothes and his hands back up this statement.

The bodies strewn throughout this maze of marble, remains of Nero's earlier mindless massacre, is proof that they screamed at him with their voices thick with fear, with terror. They're afraid of _him_, he was the cause of their _fear_, he _made them scared_. They died afraid, murdered violently, all because they pulled to the surface what scared Nero the most.

Nero chokes down another sob, eyes wide and unseeing as he stares at the red-slicked wall in front of him, surrounded by bodies he cut down, sitting in a pool of blood.

He doesn't know how long he curls up there, in the middle of a blood-soaked corridor. Maybe a few minutes, maybe hours. Maybe even a day or more. Who knows? He doesn't. When he finally reaches out and wraps clawed fingers around Yamato's tsuka, he joints are stiff, and his muscles ached, a hint to how long he didn't move.

The tears have long dried on his cheeks, and Nero only feels empty, feels numb and displaced. Yamato is cold in his hand, but heavy, a sure weight, and its voice is back, whispering, whispering, always whispering and coaxing. It was better that the death throes of the people he keeps hearing inside his own head.

_Nero_.

Yamato shuts up, then, and it wasn't the katana's voice this time. He cocks his head, eyes staring listlessly at the bloodied wall as he strains his ears.

_Nero. Come down, come down. We're here._

Nero gasps then, falling to a knee as his chest throbs with excruciating pain, his whole body aching, his whole _soul_ aching. There's something pulling on his soul, his very _being_-

These people in white, these people who he cut down with all the grace and finesse of a butcher, broke his soul and took pieces of it. Took pieces of _his soul_ and left them _somewhere_. He can feel where they are – trapped, trapped, trapped, in pain, in pain, so much pain, it hurts, it hurts, Nero, Nero, Nero, help us please, _please_ – can hear them.

The pieces of his soul that are ripped away from him.

He stands back up on shaky legs, weak and out of it, but he manages to put one foot in front of the other. Then another. Then another. On and on and on until he is walking – stumbling – towards where Yamato leads him to. For once, Yamato isn't giving him words of honeyed poison, rather, its frantic, maybe even worried, and it urges Nero to pick up the pace, move, move, move, collect his soul before he breaks apart and shatters.

Before he disappears and _dies_.

Nero is hurting, and he wants to rest, wants to silence the noise in his head, but. He doesn't want to die. He doesn't want to die, even with the blood on his hands, with the lives he claimed – _payment, it's a payment for the vile acts they did on him_, Yamato would whisper – he. _Doesn't. Want. To die._

There's… something waiting for him, right…? Or rather, there's…. there's someone waiting for him. He can't die yet, no, he can't die, he _will not die_. He has someone to meet. He doesn't know who, but he has someone to meet, and he wants to meet them again.

Someone with green eyes, someone with a lovely and warm voice, someone who's represents honor and safety. He has to meet them, he has to get back to them. He can't die, not yet, not yet, he has to go meet them-

So he limps on. And on, until he reaches a wall. Yamato grows light in his hands, and he knows what to do. He cuts the wall open, revealing it to be a hidden door, hiding a staircase that leads downwards. Further down, away from the walls stained red.

Nero steps into the hole, takes the stairs and descends further, into the dark that quickly dissipates from the light emitted by the phantom that appears behind him. He should be glad of the light, or the shadows chased away, but Nero feels is the coldness from it, like ice sliding down his spine, digging into his bones, makes it hard to breath, hard to think. But Yamato is an incessant voice in his head, reminding him to take one step after another every five seconds, urging him, urging him-

Oh.

_Oh._

There they are. _Here_, they are. The missing pieces of his soul, the parts and bits forcibly taken from him, chipped away from him, only to be stuffed into something else that is _not him_. Nero takes a deep, shuddering breath, the backs of his eyes burning, and he clutches at his chest, feeling overwhelmed, out of balance.

They're here, they're here, the pieces of his souls. The creatures holding them, keeping them alive, are all clamoring for his attention, screaming for him to kill them, kill them, kill them, _kill them_-

"I'm here, I'm here…" Nero whispers weakly, eyes swimming and head pounding, ears ringing with the cacophony of physical and mental noise, screaming, screaming, screaming, so much noise, too weak to hold up, too dizzy- "I'll kill you now, just wait a moment longer, p-please. I… I need a moment, just…"

The noise lowers, goes softer, the creatures hearing him, seeing him, realizes he's suffering just as much as them, equally in pain, equally defiled by the people in white. They're the same, Nero and these poor creatures, that they're not even worthy to be called human, undeserving of any rights, free to be toyed with, violated, killed.

All for the pleasure of these people in white. Nero's gut churns at the thought, head roiling with hate and confusion, the former emotion being fanned into a greater wildfire by Yamato's seductive voice. Nero takes a while to just _breathe_, try to clear his mind (a futile attempt) and get his bearing, Yamato clutched in his white knuckled grip, the phantom behind him looming over his kneeling form, casting a strong blue light around them.

When Nero feels he's a little bit better, just the slightest bit steadier than before, he lifts his head to look upon the creatures who that carry the pieces of his soul.

And he almost wish he didn't look at all.

They are twisted creatures, these carriers, so far changed that Nero doesn't even know what they originally were. Some are bird-like; with wings and beaks and talons, but their forms are unnatural, _wrong_, and these once-birds can no longer really be called as such, with the way they changed so much, so horribly.

And it wasn't just birds; dogs, lizards, snakes… animals that used to inhabit the island, but was entering a decline for the past few years, at a rapid rate. So this is where they've gone, in the hands of a madman, of a 'Church' that spoke of justice and mercy and what other lies they spouted, feeding the naïve and blind people of Fortuna.

How badly did the Order lie to them? Nero is afraid to learn of the truth. So _scared_.

Nero walked amongst the cages, looking at them in horror, in pity, in disgust, and they look back at him, look back at him _with his own face_. It was terrifying, a vision straight out of a nightmare, with the way some of these creatures have human limbs, human parts, _his face_, and really. How sick and twisted is the person who made these? Who thought of the idea to break his soul, and shove those bits into... Into this creatures?

Nero feels sick to his stomach.

This… basement, this spacious area, is filled with cages upon cages stacked upon one another, all holding these creatures, and no wonder Nero feels his soul _ache_, his very being in pain. He doesn't want to know how much did they take from his soul. How much did they break him just so they could bring these… these things to life.

He doesn't want to know.

A wail rings through the air, pained, furious, _desperate,_ and Nero looks towards the direction from where it came from with wide eyes. Disbelief floods his whole body, because that voice…

That was his voice.

His feet moves before his brain can catch up, carrying him to where the wail came from. It was far from the rest of the other monsters, away from the rest of _his copies_, and the still rational part of his brain warns him that whatever is separated from the rest, is different, _one of a kind_, and he needs to be wary all the more.

But Yamato only urges him forward, more and more, until Nero finds the source-

It was a monster. There's no other word to describe this… this _thing_, but as a monster.

Oh it has the shape of a human, that much is true, but it… the comparison ends there.

It had his face, had his hair, his voice, his eyes… but everything else is wrong. Limbs twisted in ways it shouldn't be twisted, too many fingers, too many toes, too many teeth inside its mouth. Hair like snakes, moving, writhing, seemingly _alive_. Deep blue crystals that grow out of its body, the flesh around it red and inflamed and bleeding.

It's a disgusting sight, a nightmare straight from hell this creature _holds the largest piece of his fragmented soul_.

And it was crying for him.

Nero can only look at it in horror, frozen where he stand as the creature wails his name out, over and over, within the confines of its cage. It reaches out, with twisted hands, begging and begging.

"_Kill me_." It moans, anguished and clearly suffering. The hand around Yamato tightens, and Nero can feel himself shake. "_Kill me please_."

Nero's head explodes in a mess of noise, sending him screaming and dropping to the floor, clutching his head between bloodied hands. Yamato is screaming in his head, the souls scattered in these creatures is screaming in his head, and _he_ is screaming too.

It was too much.

He can't think.

He wants it to end.

He wants himself whole.

He doesn't want to hurt anymore.

He wants the people who did this to _pay_.

With great difficulty, Nero picks up Yamato again, the katana singing (screaming) in his grasp.

Time to put an end to some things.

* * *

**I hate this chapter the most.**


End file.
